Don't Be Afraid to Sing Along
by DC55
Summary: Life's a song, don't be afraid to sing along. Riley Rodgers loved glee club as a teenager, and now she wants to bring that to the kids of Westbank Secondary, though she thinks that may be easier said than done. SYOC CLOSED
1. Prologue

"Sir, if you let me do this I promise I will never ask you for anything else. Ever," Riley Rodgers promised with what she hoped was an adorable smile, but the woman had always found that she looked more sheepish than adorable when trying to get what she wanted.

Principal Ryerson sighed deeply, rubbing his temples. He looked over the files the Riley has plopped onto his desk, flipping through the papers once more. He sighed again.

Riley bit her lip, rocking back and forth on her heels. The young teacher rung her hands together, watching Principal Ryerson carefully. She could never read the older black man, even after spending almost three years at Westbank Secondary under his order. She brushed her curly hair from her face, holding her breath as she wait for him to answer.

"Listen Rodgers," the Principal began.

"Principal Ryerson, a glee club will make this school a significantly better place for its students. It has been proven that the arts help children, especially teens, deal with many things in their lives," she said all in one breath. "Glee can help self esteem and confidence issues, it is a way for the kids to safely express themselves, and-"

"Fine."

Riley faltered. "Pardon me?" she questioned.

"I said fine, Miss Rodgers, you may have your glee club," the man informed. "You will have access to the choir room after school three times a week, and the auditorium is yours when it is not otherwise occupied. You will be souly responsible for this cub."

Riley nodded rapidly, brown eyes sparkling. "Oh, thank you so much sir," she gushed.

Principal Ryerson help up his hand, a signal for her to stop talking. "Do you understand what this means, Miss Rogers? Anything that happens with this glee club, whether good or bad, will have your name all over it," he warned. "Are you prepared for that?"

"Of course," she repeated, leaning quickly over the desk to give the principal a tight hug. "You won't regret this," she promised, turning and skipping out the door.

The man at the desk sighed. "I hope not."

* * *

 **A/N: Hello and welcome. I haven't done one of these in a while, and honestly I have recently had a serious case of writer's block, which I hope this will be cured by doing this story. I promise to try my best to stick with this a keep up with the updates. This story will be mainly character-centric, but will of course follow the club as well, though I will be waiting until I receive characters to work out any major plot points. This is of course so short because it is only an introduction chapter. So, go, create, submit!**

 **Rules:**

 **1\. I will only accept submissions by PM and if they are with the form I have provided you. Sorry if that is inconvenient for anybody. Please title the PM "SYOC: Character's Name"**

 **2\. I will be accepting about 10-15 characters. Two of the characters in this story will be mine, but I will give all the characters I choose equal attention.**

 **3\. This is NOT first come first serve. I will pick the characters that I think will fit best with this story. You may submit up to three characters.**

 **4\. I do not appreciate flames. Please do not be angry at me if I do not accept your character or if the story is not going the way you wanted it to. With that said, if you feel that I am not writing you character to justice or the way you wanted, please feel free to message me.**

 **5\. I reserve the right to accept or decline characters as I wish. To ensure a better chance of your character being accepted, make them as interesting and detailed as possible. No Mary-Sues or Gary-Sues. I want characters of different races, sexualities, genders, and backgrounds. Really be detailed. Full sentences, paragraphs, the more the better.**

 **6\. This will be written in 3rd person, but every character will have parts written in their point of view, it will just be 3rd person. I will try to update as frequently as I can. No promises.**

 **7\. Feel free to PM me with any questions, and have fun!**

 **Form:**

 **Name:**

 **Nickname(s) (if any):**

 **Gender:**

 **Age (highschool age):**

 **Grade:**

 **Ethnicity:**

 **Sexuality (indicated whether closeted or not):**

 **Appearance (detail and full sentences please):**

 **Personality (be detailed- hair colour, hair style, eye colour, body shape, etc) :**

 **History:**

 **Family (I would like age, brief personality description and appearance, relation to character and relationship to them):**

 **Friends (do they have any? Are the social? Are they in any cliques? I may change this based on characters I get and if I want any of them having existing relationships):**

 **Romance (Yes or no? And with what type of person):**

 **Clothing Style:**

 **Likes:**

 **Dislikes:**

 **Strengths/Skills:**

 **Weaknesses/Flaws:**

 **Fears/Phobias:**

 **Secrets:**

 **Are they a virgin?:**

 **Goals (what do they want the most? What do they want to do after highschool):**

 **Why did they join glee club?:**

 **Audition song:**

 **Other songs for them to sing (about 5):**

 **Favourite Artists:**

 **Rate the following three on a scale of one to ten:**

 **Singing:**

 **Dancing:**

 **Acting:**

 **Average Grades:**

 **Other clubs/activities they are involved in:**

 **Favourite/Least Favourite Classes:**

 **Talents/Hobbies:**

 **Religion:**

 **Storylines for them (at least 2 or 3):**

 **Anything else?:**


	2. Character Introductions

"Can you believe this is happening, Charles?" questioned Riley Rogers as she sipped her coffee, smiling despite the fact that it was 7:30 on a Monday morning. "A glee club, my glee club, this is so exciting," she gushed. "Do you think anyone will show up?" she wondered. When there was no answer she sighed, glancing down at her fluffy white cat. "Charles?"

The cat meowed at the mention of his name, winding around Riley's legs, tail up in the air.

Riley took another gulp of her coffee, trying to settle the nervous excitement that bubbled in her stomach as she looked at the stack of papers on the kitchen table in front of her.

 **GLEE CLUB AUDITIONS: THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, 3:00, IN THE** **AUDITORIUM**

She smiled nervously as she read over the papers again, hoping that they would soon be filled with names of excited students. The cat at her feet meowed again, and she grinned down at him. "You're right, Charles, this is going to be great," she decided.

Happy with her new-found confidence regarding the club, Riley glanced up at the clock, and shot up out of her seat. "Sorry, Charles," she exclaimed as the cat hissed, frighted by her sudden movement. She grabbed her bag, throwing it over her shoulder. "Gotta go," she said, mainly to herself, before grabbing her keys and running out the door.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello dear readers! Thank you all for the wonderful characters, I am still looking for one or two more though, so submit away. Below is a list of all accepted characters and a brief description of them. Please PM me a short explanation of who your character(s) would like/get along with (whether it be romantic or platonic) and those they wouldn't like. It would be greatly appreciated if you could get that into me ASAP. My day off is Friday, so expect the first chapter around then!**

 **Perry Dawson (17):** Grade 12/Senior-Homosexual-Perry is strong, determined, and stubborn. She is loud, daring, and extremely protective. Perry is generally friendly, she isn't afraid of people or talking, and almost always voices her opinions. She has grown up very fast, and has taken on the caretaker and almost a mother role for her younger siblings, which has made her quite motherly towards others. She is adventurous and can be reckless, but is also quite clever. This sarcastic Latina is fierce, protective, and willing to do whatever it takes. _(Submitted by Me)_

 **Levi Wilson (16):** Grade 11/Junior-Homosexual (closeted)-Levi is sarcastic, loud, and quick to pass judgement. He can often come off as rude or even mean, but is really a good guy, he's just closed himself up in order to protect himself and his emotions from the toxicity of his home life. He is impulsive, careless, short-tempered, and can be a bit obsessive. He speaks his mind. Levi is smart, but very aggressive and emotionally fragile. He's also a classically trained pianist. _(Submitted by Yonna9queen)_

 **Spencer "Speedy" McCall (14):** Grade 9/Freshman-Heterosexual-Spencer, or Speedy, is fast friendly, and kind of all over the place. He is playful and extremely talkative, with a bit of a reckless attitude. Due to is ADHD, Speedy is constantly go go go, and will try everything at least once. He is cute and clumsy, but very kind. Speedy is extremely determined and will never give up. _(Submitted by Linneagb)_

 **Jordan Greenaway (14):** Grade 11/Junior-Heterosexual-Jordan is a little genius, and her enhanced intelligence almost makes up for a lack of social skills. Since she has skipped two grades, she is seen as a bit of a genius basketcase, and doesn't really have many friends. She's very reclusive, seemingly antisocial, and is extremely odd. She is a kleptomaniac and is extremely blunt, telling things like they are no matter how they might affect somebody's life or feelings. She doesn't talk much, but it extremely perceptive and observant, though never tactful or sensitive about the things she notices. Jordan is very judgemental and somewhat cynical but endlessly curious. Despite all of this, she is a good-hearted girl who tries her best. _(Submitted by sparrhawk)_

 **Anya Jacobs (15):** Grade 10/Sophomore-Bisexual (semi-closeted)-This adorable little Russian girl is kind, sweet, and respectful. She is soft-spoken and shy, but extremely friendly despite that. She is very compassionate. Anya is extremely smart, and quite logical. She excels in all her classes, and cares a lot about school, being a perfectionist. She is strong, stubborn, determined, and doesn't let her disability stop her. She is extremely independent and doesn't mind being alone. Anya is quite the watcher, and very observant, and doesn't often put herself out there. She is clever and curious, with a hint of rare sass. She is a bit quirky, and very much a nerd. _(Submitted by Me)_

 **Ashleigh Rayne (16):** Grade 11/Junior-Heterosexual-Ashleigh is a beautiful girl with an honest soul. She is very friendly and bubbly, hanging out with the popular crowd. She's trust-worthy, and funny. Ashleigh is very kind and compassionate, and a truly empathetic person. She is loyal and perceptive. She is very protected over those she cares about. _(Submitted by JamoActor)_

 **Dylan Jamieson (16):** Grade 11/Junior-Heterosexual-Dylan is a bit of a bad boy, he has little respect for authority and often skips class, or procrastinates until the very last second. He is a trouble maker and very strong willed. He is slightly disrespectful and quite reckless. He has been dating Ashleigh for a while now and loves her very much. He would do anything for her, and around her is kind, courteous, and gentle. _(Submitted by JamoActor)_

 **Sabrina Mallory (17):** Grade 11/Junior-Homosexual-Sabrina is kind, smart, and outgoing. She can bit a bit uptight at times, and likes control, but is a big dreamer as well. She can be a bitch, but only to people who annoy her, and is a very strong woman. She is creative and unique, and is very playful. Sabrina is protective of her friends, independent, and likes to do what she wants. She enjoys her privacy. ( _Submitted by xQueen-Of-Applesx)_

 **Sunny Park (16):** Grade 10/Sophomore-Heterosexual-Sunny is intelligent, quite, and kind. She is a mysterious girl who enjoys spending her time studying. She's a bit of a teacher's pet and is very kind-hearted. Though she may seems timid and afraid, she will not hesitate to stand up for herself, or for other people. She just hates bullies. Other than that, she is a sweet and friendly girl. _(Submitted by xQueen-Of-Applesx)_

 **Shay Meyers (15):** Grade 11/Junior-Bisexual-Shay is flirty, seductive, and extremely reckless. She is very witty, intelligent and cunning, and can easily manipulate people to do what she wants them to. She does this often, because it makes her feel like she has some control in life. That she has some power. As well, she is promiscuous, sleeping with both women and men throughout the school, and the community. She cares very little about herself and others. She is struggling academically and often jumps head first into things before considering the consequences. _(Submitted by RainbowSmiles323)_

 **Elizabeth Fletcher (17):** Grade 12/Senior-Homosexual-Elizabeth is adventurous and fun. She likes to do what she wants and has a bit of a disregard for rules and authority. She is very friendly, almost too friendly in a way where she sometimes ignores other people's boundaries. She is bubbly and happy. Liz is a bit punk rock, is endlessly curious and adventurous, and will not let any silly thing like a rule stop her from exploring. She likes to have fun. Liz is creative and never backs down from a challenge. _(Submitted by Freddy Mercury's Moustache)_

 **Evan Conaway (16):** Grade 11/Junior-Homosexual-Evan is charming and friendly, though not fairly sociable. He is naturally endearing and evokes a sense of calm when around. He is very polite, and sympathetic, but is blunt. If you ask him to tell you the truth, he will, no hesitation. He loves to joke around and have fun with others, but sometimes just randomly trails off into silence. He's very determined, and focused, and has a hint of intensity in his personality, because once he has his heart and mind set on a goal, he will achieve it, no matter what. Evan also has a bit of a hero complex, which can often get him or others in trouble. ( _Submitted by RainbowSmiles323)_

 **Emilio Rivera (15):** Grade 10/Sophomore-Homosexual (closeted)-Emilio is very fun-loving and kind, but can sometimes come off as a jerk. He is loud, blunt, and says what he means, except when his family is around, then he turns quiet. As the youngest and more reserved boy of his family, EJ has had a bit of trouble fitting in. Singing and dancing were not things that the Rivera boys normally did, which is why he sometimes lets his aggression out at school. He is clever and knows how to take care of himself. _(Submitted by Tif S)_

 **Gregory Morin (15):** Grade 10/Sophomore-Heterosexual-Greg is very fun and kind. He is outgoing and friendly to almost everyone he meets. This skilled basketball player has always been pushed towards greatness, and that's exactly what he wants, greatness. Gregory is extremely determined and will not let anything or anyone stop him. He always has to be better than he is now, and is a firm believer in "practice makes perfect". _(Submitted by Happy77123)_


	3. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, here's the first chapter, as promised. each character makes an appearance in this chapter. Not all chapters will be like this. No way I can have every character is every chapter. Next chapter will be auditions, and that should be up soon. I'm hoping to keep with a once a week update at least. Also, do you guys think that 14 characters is good, or no? I'm not sure.**

 **So, I hope I have done all your characters justice. Feel free to contact me if you have questions or concerns. Also, to those who haven't already, please tell me who you think your character would get along with, who you could see them having a possible relationship with, and who they wouldn't like. I really need it, it helps a lot. Okay, I think that's all, and please review. I want to know what you're thinking.**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

"Thanks mom," Elizabeth Fletcher called over her shoulder as she got out of the Jeep, smoothing out her leather jacket. "Catch ya later."

"Elizabeth!" her mother said quickly, before Liz could slam the door shut. Waiting for her daughter to pause and look at her, she gave her a pointed look. "Will you please think about what your father and I said? Joining a club will be good for you."

"Yeah, yeah, alright mom," sighed Elizabeth

Her mother nodded, sighing as well. Sometimes she feared her daughter was a lost cause. "Try and be good today, alright?"

Elizabeth rolled her bright green eyes. "I'll try," she assured, voice laced with sarcasm, but she had shut the door and spun around before her mother could scold her again.

Liz strutted into school with her head held high, dyed red hair a bright pop among her dark, leather clothing. She smiled to herself as she made her way to her locker. It felt somewhat unnatural to be so happy this early in the morning, but she wasn't going to question it. She had that good feeling in her bones, excitement, like there was an adventure waiting to begin, and she couldn't complain about that.

The was a page posted to the locker when she reached it, and Elizabeth tore it off without a second thought. Why couldn't people just stick to using the walls to pin stuff up? She moved to throw it in the garbage when the heading caught her eye. Glee club.

Elizabeth paused, frowning to herself as she scanned over the sheet, deep in thought. Maybe if she joined glee her parents would finally get off her back.

She made her way back to her locker, opened it, and shoved the sign-up sheet inside.

* * *

Perry Dawson sighed as she rolled up to the school parking lot on her skateboard, brushing a loose ringlet from her face. She adjusted her backpack on her shoulders, weaving through the multiple people who were making their way inside just before the bell rang. She slowed as she reached the sidewalk, hoping of the board and flipping it into her hand without a break in her stride. She smirked to herself, she had gotten really good at doing that, and it felt kind of good.

She slipped into the school just as the warning bell rang, signalling that she had five minutes to get to her locker and then get to class, which was no trouble really. Being in grade twelve meant that she was able to get around the school in no time flat, which was considerably convenient.

She entered her combination with ease, pulling it open and shoving her skateboard inside. She pulled a granola bar from the top shelf and tore into it. They had only been in school for a couple weeks, so at least she didn't have to worrying about it being older than Mrs. Kent, her history teacher from hell, but Perry was too hunger to care anyway. She hadn't eaten yet, and this granola bar -albeit slightly stale- would stop her stomach from growling all the way until lunch.

"Hat off, Miss Dawson," called a stern voice from over her shoulder.

"Yes sir," Perry exclaimed with exaggerated enthusiasm, not even bothering to check which teacher has scolded her, nor pausing to pull her toque off her head. In fact, she tugged it down over her ears -the middle of September and Washington state was already starting to cool down.

"Oh look, little orphan Annie actually showed up today," cooed a male voice from behind her, coming up to lean against the lockers next to hers.

Perry scowled, turning around and pulling up her too-big ripped jeans by the belt before facing the boy in question. "Fuck off, Levi," she spat at the tattooed boy. "I'm Latina anyways, you idiot, I look nothing like Annie," she said, gesturing to herself. "Nor do I randomly break into song."

Levi stepped back, holding up his hands in defence and flipping his jet black hair from his eyes. "Whoa there Dawson, someone's snippy today," he observed with a chuckle. "And I'm Hispanic too...well, half."

Perry rolled her amber eyes. "I really don't care," she told him honestly.

"I think you should," Levi commented. "Besides, I wasn't referring to your "stunning good looks" Dawson," he continued sarcastically. "I was talking about how-"

Perry slammed her locker shut, the sharp sound echoing through the hall and startling Levi. "I know exactly what you were referring to," she assured. "But I suggest you stop referring to it."

Levi scoffed. "You gonna make me?" he questioned cockily.

Perry sighed, turning to face him. Though his smirk was casual, Perry could tell he was ready for a fight. It was a shame, she wasn't looking to get into anything so early in the day, she already has a split lip from her run in with another boy last week. She cracked her knuckles. "Would you like me to?"

Levi's nostril's flared, and he was half-way through raising his fist when a voice from down the hall interrupted him.

"Yo, Levi, let's go," a boy with a backwards hat called from down the hallway, waving his friend over.

"Yeah, Levi," Perry said in imitation of the boy, voice deep. "Buzz off." Before Levi could reply again, she ducked around him and made her way around the corner, smirking. Perry walked quickly, glancing up at the clock. One minute until class. Plenty of time.

* * *

Jordan Greenaway sped quickly through the halls, head down and books clutched tightly to her chest as she tried to make it to her second period class. There were so many people in this school, so many people that she was significantly smarter than. She wished she could just be in college already.

Her train of thought was interrupted when a body knocking into her, sending her stumbling backwards and her books skidding across the floor.

"Sorry!" exclaimed the girl that had knocked into her, pulling out her earphones as they both bent down to gather their things.

Jordan nodded, brushing her curly hair from her eyes and not speaking, but silently cursing the girl for not knowing how to walk. She pulled her books back into her arms, quickly grabbing one of the girl's notebooks for good measure.

She stood up once she had all her things, standing to the side and allowing for the girl to pass. Once she was out of sight, Jordan pulled out the notebook she had snatched and flipped through it. She frowned. The notebook was relatively empty, only a couple of pages were filled with scribbles in a language that Jordan did not understand. Brows furrowed, she searched for a name.

 _Property of Anya Jacobs._ That meant nothing to Jordan, but then again she didn't really know anybody in the school, besides the teachers that was.

Jordan leaned against the wall, flipping through the notebook again. A loose paper fell from the pages, and the blonde fumbled with it, grabbing it out of the air before it hit the ground.

 **GLEE CLUB AUDITIONS.**

Jordan tilted her head to the side, reading the page quickly and considering it for a moment. She glanced around, and when she was sure that no one was paying attention to her, tossed the notebook into a nearby recycling bin, but kept the flyer, shoving it into her backpack.

Quickly and with ease, she made her way back into the stream of people heading to class, thoughts not on the chemistry quiz she had in a couple minutes, as it should of been -though why bother, she would ace it anyways- but on the possibility of joining a glee club. It was ridiculous...or was it?

* * *

"Eh, Speedy, you hear that Ms Rodgers was starting a Glee Club?" a dark-haired boy questioned, picking at his cafeteria lunch.

Spencer McCall raised a brow as he bit into his apple. "What even is a Glee Club?" he questioned with a tilt of his head, dark blonde hair falling over his shoulder. He swallowed. "Like, what do they do? Doesn't glee mean like 'happiness' or something. Is this a club about happiness? That's lame, I mean-"

His friend shrugged. "I don't know," he said, interrupting quickly. "Sing and shit?" he suggested.

"Sing and shit?" Speedy repeated, tapping his foot under the table. "Oh yeah, I guess that makes sense."

His friend smirked mischievously. "I dare you to try out."

Speedy looked at him. "Try out for a stupid singing club when I don't even sing?" he questioned, pausing to let a smirk slowly spread across his face. "Deal."

* * *

On the other side of the cafeteria, Emilio Rivera and Gregory Morin sat facing each other, throwing cards down on the crumb-ridden table.

"You're coming to practice today, right?" Greg asked through a mouthful or food, setting a card down on the pile and frowning with Emilio didn't answer. "Come on, EJ, you know coach'll freak out on you if you miss another practice."

"Yeah, yeah," EJ shrugged, picking up a card. "Can't go," he said. "And sure, I'll come tonight."

Gregory nodded, and the two boys returned to their game of cards. After a minute of silence, EJ spoke up again. "Do you ever do anything other than basketball?" he questioned.

Greg shrugged, slightly taken aback by the sudden question. "Not really," he replied. "Besides, practice makes perfect, right? Why would I do anything else?"

"I don't know, for a change maybe?" EJ suggested.

Greg nodded. "Alright, sure," he said. "Like what, then?"

Emilio glanced at the flyer posted on the wall behind Greg, that one that he hand been staring at the whole lunch period. "There are Glee Club auditions on Thursday," he informed, then quickly added, "We don't have practice that day."

Greg furrowed his dark brows. "Glee?" he repeated, considering the idea. "I don't know man, glee instead of basketball?"

"Not instead," EJ assured. "Just as well. But, your dad wouldn't like it, would he?" he stated bluntly.

"No," Greg responded with a quick shrug, but then again his dad didn't really like anything that didn't have to do with basketball. "Would yours?"

Emilio grew quiet at the mention of his family, fist curling underneath the table. "Whatever," he decided quickly. "Let's do it anyways."

Greg raised a brow. "Really?"

EJ nodded firmly. "Yes," he said. "Greg, we're joining Glee Club."

* * *

Evan Conaway was just praying for something to interrupt his math teacher's lesson when Shay Meyers strolled into class.

Evan glanced at the clock. She was only twenty minutes late today, which wasn't that bad, considering she often didn't come to class at all. It's not like she needed to anyways. Everyone knew that Shay had the best mark in the class, even if she was absent more often than not.

"Care to explain why you are late, Ms. Meyers?" their math teacher, Mr. Jones, questioned with a raised brow.

Shay rolled her ocean blue eyes. "Not particularly," she murmured under her breath, -but loud enough for Evan to hear- and turned to face the teacher.

"What was that?" Mr. Jones asked.

"Oh, nothing Mr. Jones," Shay assured, voice going up an octave as she batted her dark eyelashes. "It's just, my brother needed my help, and I really had to make sure he was okay," she said in a sickly sweet voice. It was pretty obvious she was lying -Shay Meyers had quite the reputation around school, and part of it was about how she never went to class- but Jones has always been a sucker.

"I promise it won't happen again," Shay said, another lie.

Mr. Jones nodded. "Of course, Shay, take your seat."

Shay nodded, face morphing back into a scowl as she slide into her seat next to Evan.

Evan glanced at her. "Do you even have a brother?" he questioned under his breath.

"Is it any of your business?" she shot back venomously.

Evan shrugged, looking away from her. _Poor girl,_ he thought, _she needs help, there is obviously something going on._ Maybe he could help her. Evan glanced at Shay once more, but quickly adverted his gaze when he received a death stare. Then again, maybe he should just leave her alone.

* * *

"Oh, come on, it'll be fun!"

Dylan Jamieson shook his head, long dark hair flying around his face. "No way, babe," he said, tucking a piece of hair behind his ear. "I am not joining Glee Club."

Ashleigh Rayne frowned, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "But why not?' she questioned.

Dylan scoffed. "Cause it's lame," he answered simply.

Ashleigh playfully whacked her boyfriend on the arm. "Oh, don't say that," she scolded lightly. "You know that's not true. Besides, you love to sing."

He shrugged carelessly. "Whatever," he responded. "Either way, I wouldn't join some stupid club to sing show tunes with a bunch of nerds.

Ashleigh rolled her hazel eyes fondly, scanning the hallways in search of someone to back her up. "Sabrina," she called with a smile, spotting her friend at her locker just several feet away. She waved her over. "Come here."

The blonde nodded, shutting her locker and making her way over to the pair. "What's up?" she questioned.

"Dylan thinks Glee Club is lame," she said, looking pointedly at her boyfriend, who just shrugged.

Sabrina chuckled. "It's not lame," she assured.

"Ha!" Ashleigh exclaimed triumphantly. "See, it's not lame at all," she decided.

"Oh, come on," Dylan exclaimed, looking over to Sabrina. "I thought Brits and Aussies were supposed to like each other."

The British girl shrugged. "Well..."

"At least more than Americans," Dylan supplied.

Sabrina nodded. "That is true."

Ashleigh smiled fondly at the two, rolling her eyes. "Whatever," she said, turning to her best friend. "You'll join with me, right?"

Sabrina bit her lip. "I don't know..."

"Come on, please," Ashleigh begged.

"Oh fine," Sabrina relented with a sigh, running a hand through her pink-streaked hair. "Sign me up, okay. We've got to go to cheer practice. You coming?"

"I'll be right there," Ashleigh assured. "Just give me a second."

"Ash..." Sabrina warned, not wanting to be late. She knew how the coach got.

"I'll be right there," Ashleigh repeated, watching Sabrina nod and go before turning back to her boyfriend. "Now you have to join," she said.

Dylan chuckled, leaning back against the wall. "No way, sweetheart."

Ashleigh pouted. "Please. For me?" she questioned. She knew Dylan would do whatever she wanted him to do. He may seem like a bad boy, which he was, she supposed, but he was a real softy around her.

Dylan sighed, well aware he was fighting a losing battle. "Alright," he agreed after a moment. "I'll audition, but I make no promises."

Ashleigh squealed in excitement, clapping her hands together. "Great," she cheered, scribbling their names on the sheet posted on the board next to them. She placed a quick kiss on his cheek. "Now you go to your guidance appointment, I've gotta go to cheer before coach, or Sabrina, come looking for me." With that, Ashleigh moved around him and sped quickly towards the gym.

Dylan shook his head fondly, taking a moment to smile to himself before his face returned to its normal frown as he made his way down the hall.

* * *

School hadn't ended more than fifteen minutes ago, and yet the library was almost empty, except for Park Sun-Yung, who was studying at one of the tables, dark brows furrowed.

A soft greeting of "Good afternoon, Sunny," pulled the Korean girl out of her textbook.

She looked up and smiled at the librarian who had spoken, tucking a piece of light brown hair behind her ear as she did so. "Good afternoon, Karen," she responded kindly. She spent a great deal of extra time in the school, so much so that she was one a first name basis with a significant amount of the staff. "How are you?"

The red-headed librarian slid into a seat across from the student, resting her hands atop the table. "I am well," Karen assured. "And what about you? Don't you have anything you should be doing right now?" she wondered.

Sunny's brows furrowed. "Well, of course, Karen," she replied. "I'm studying. I've got a essay for History due in a few weeks."

Karen chuckled fondly. "No I mean other than that, an extra-curricular perhaps," she suggested, sighing when Sunny only gave her another confused look. "You know, they look really good on a college application. The board with all the sign up sheets is over there." With that reminder, the librarian gave Sunny a final smile before standing and returning to her own desk.

Sunny turned her head to glance over at the board that Karen had mentioned, biting her lip. After a moment of hesitation -and one last look to make sure Karen wasn't watching- Sunny stood and cautiously made her way to the other side of the library.

Once she was there, Sunny quickly scanned the assortment of sheets pinned to the bulletin board, dark eyes narrowing at the thought of having to join a sports team. She supposed she could join the Mathletes, but would that really show her well-roundedness? Perhaps not.

Sunny sighed to herself, ready to just join Mathletes when she eyes settled on a page in the bottom corner. Shifting the rest of the papers so she could read it, a curious smile appeared on her face.

"Glee club?" she whispered to herself, glancing around quickly to make sure no one had heard her speaking. When she was once again sure that there was no one watching, Sunny clicked on her pen and wrote her name down in small, neat print on the page.

Little did she know that behind her, Karen was beaming with pride.


	4. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hello again and welcome to the auditions chapter. I considered splitting this into two, but decided against it. This chapter again features every character, and is slightly longer than you should expect other chapters to be. Also, it features Riley, who will not get as much screen time throughout the story as she currently is, her POV is just the best to use right now.**

 **So, I hope you like all the characters and that I am writing yours to justice. Please review and talk to me, I want to know what you are thinking. Until next week, my loves.**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

Riley Rodgers sat in Westbank's darkened auditorium, lightly tapping her pen against her currently blank notepad. It was almost three, which meant it was just about time for auditions to start, and she was beyond excited. Hopefully she would get a good batch of singers.

The clock struck three and she was just about to call for the first performer when a curvy Korean girl walked quickly onto stage and straight to the microphone.

"My name is Park Sun-Yung," she said as she reached the mic, adjusting it for her height. "But you can call me Sunny."

Riley nodded. "Thank you Sunny, you may begin."

Sunny nodded as well, taking a deep breath.

 _Once upon a time, a few mistakes ago_

 _I was in your sights, you got me alone_

 _You found me, you found me, you found me_

 _I guess you didn't care, and I guess I liked that_

 _And when I feel hard, you took a step back_

 _Without me, without me, without me_

Riley's eyes widened, surprised by the song choice, but her fingers were tingling with excitement. One person in and she was already off to a good start.

Sunny looked a bit nervous, clutching the mic stand as she continued to sing.

 _I knew you were trouble when you walked in_

 _Oh shame on me now_

 _So shame on me now  
Flew me to places I'd never been  
Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground  
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble  
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble _

"Surprising song choice, but well suited to voice," Riley wrote on her notepad as she watched Sunny perform. "Looks nervous."

Soon, Sunny finished her song and stepped back from the microphone. "Thank you for your time," she said to Riley, then turned and quickly exited the stage.

* * *

 _Been wokin' so hard  
_ _I'm punchin' my card  
_ _Eight hours for what  
_ _Oh, tell me what I got_

Emilio Rivera was nothing if not fun. He had strutted onto stage and sung with all his heart.

"This boy is a true performer," Riley wrote down on her page as EJ kicked the mic stand down and then flipped it back into his waiting hand.

 _Now I gotta cut loose, footloose_ _  
_ _Kick off your Sunday shoes_ _  
_ _Please, Louise, pull me off of my knees_ _  
_ _Jack, get back, come on before we crack_ _  
_ _Lose your blues, everybody cut footloose_

 _Everybody cut, everybody cut_

 _Everybody cut footloose_

By the time he finished his song, Riley too felt like dancing.

* * *

"Greg Morin?"

A dark-haired boy stumbled out from behind the curtains, seemingly arguing with someone off stage. He stood there for a moment, trying to find a way off before finally relenting and making his way to the centre of the stage..

"Sorry about that," Greg apologized, straightening his basketball jersey. "Um, anyways, I'll be singing 'Mad World'," he introduced, throwing his hands up with a small shrugged. "Enjoy, I guess..."

 _All around me are familiar faces  
Worn out places  
Worn out faces  
Bright and early for their daily races  
Going nowhere  
Going nowhere_

Gregory wasn't half bad, Riley reasoned, and it would be good to have more male voices."Strong voice," Riley jotted down on her page.

 _And I find it kind of funny  
I find it kind of sad  
The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had  
I find it hard to tell you  
'Cause I find it hard to take  
When people run in circles it's a very very  
Mad world  
Mad world  
Mad world_

* * *

A tanned girl with bright eyes stalked confidently onto the stage, stopping as she reached the mic and turning to face the audience.

"My name is Perry Dawson, and I will be singing Joni Michelle's 'A Case of You'," she introduced simply.

Riley nodded. "Thank you, Perry," she said. "Please begin when you are ready."

Perry smirked, turning to nod to the pianist to signal him to start play. She loosened her stance, gripping the mic stand with one hand and she turned back towards Riley.

 _Just before your love got lost you said "I am as constant as the Northern star"_ _  
_ _And I said "Constantly in the darkness,_ _  
_ _Where's that at?  
If you want me I'll be in the bar,"_

Riley's eyes widened, taken aback by the rich vocals. She obviously wasn't well trained, but there was talent there that could not be denied.

"Smooth voice, soothing almost," she scribbled down on her notepad. "Rich vocals. Good stage presence."

 _On the back of a cartoon coaster_ _  
_ _By the blue TV screen light_ _  
_ _I drew a map of Canada_ _  
_ _Oh Canada_ _  
_ _Your face sketched on it twice_

She glanced back up at Perry as she continued to sing, brows furrowed in thought as she took in the Latina's appearance.

"Looks a bit rough," she wrote as Perry continued to sing. "Keep an eye out."

 _Oh, your in my blood like holy wine  
You taste so bitter, and so sweet  
Oh I could drink a case of you, darling  
And I would still be on my feet, I would still be on my feet_

Riley clapped as Perry finished her song. The girl gave the teacher a nod and then quickly left the stage.

* * *

"Next!" Riley called.

A small boy skidded onto stage next, waving up at Riley. He gave her a cute smile, brows raising and pulling at the scar over his brow, making it more pronounced.

"Hey, my name is Spencer McCall," he introduced quickly, rocking back and forth on his heels. "But you can call me Speedy, everyone does."

And Riley could see why. This kid had been on stage for less than a minute and already looked like he was about to burst. "Alright Speedy," she tried out, the nickname feeling strange on her tongue. "Whenever you are ready."

Speedy nodded. "Okay, yep," he replied. "Oh, and I'm singing Harry Potter in 99 seconds, by Jon Cozart. Have you ever seen that video? Well it's really cool, I guess that's why I'm singing it. Okay, I'm ready now." He nodded once more, taking a huge breath.

 _There once was a boy named Harry, destined to be a star  
_ _His parents were killed by Voldemort who gave him a lightening scar_

Riley chuckled, what a strange song to pick. "He's cute," she said to herself, writing that down on her paper quickly. "And has good energy."

Not surprisingly, Speedy finished his song in what Riley suspected was less than 99 seconds, grinning and thanking her before running off stage.

* * *

A tattooed boy stalked onto stage next, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his ripped jeans.

"Are you Levi Wilson?" questioned Riley, sitting up in her theater seat.

The boy, Levi, nodded, brushing his black hair from his eyes. "Yep, that's me," he said, but nothing more.

"Well, okay," Riley replied, brows furrowed. "Whenever you are ready then, Levi."

"Yep," Levi said again, reaching for the microphone.

 _When your legs don't work like they used to before  
And I can't sweep you off of your feet  
Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?  
Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?_

 _And, darling, I will be loving you 'til we're 70_  
 _And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard at 23_

Levi had a smooth, soothing voice, something Riley definitely wanted to have on her team.

 _Oh, we found love right where we are  
_ _Darling, we found love right where we are_

* * *

Jordan Greenaway would not stop fidgeting with her hands. She was constantly ringing them, clutching them tightly to her stomach, even as her music began to play.

 _There's a fire starting in my heart  
_ _Reaching a fever pitch and its bringing me out the dark  
_ _Finally I can see your crystal clear  
_ _Go 'head and sell me out and I'll lay your shit bare_

Jordan's version was rawer than Adele's, but no less good.

 _We could've had it all  
Rolling in the deep  
You had my heart inside your hand  
And you played it to the beat_

Riley watched Jordan carefully. Though her singing was good, her hands were constantly moving around, and her sky blue eyes were darting around the stage.

"Watch out for her," Riley scribbled on the bottom of her page, below the rest of her notes. "Seems at bit odd."

 _You're going to wish you  
Never had met me_

* * *

 _Rise above, gonna start the war!  
What you want, what you need, what'd you come here for?  
Well, an eye for an eye and an 'F' for fight  
They're taking me down as the prisoners riot_

Evan Conaway's version of "Houdini" by Foster The People was nothing short of wonderful.

"Great stage presence," Riley wrote on her notepad. "He is extremely charming."

Evan grinned up at the teacher as he continued to sing, his bright green eyes twinkling,

 _Got shackles on, my words are tied  
Fear can make you compromise  
Lights turned up, it's hard to hide  
Sometimes I wanna disappear _

Evan took a deep breath once her was finished, running a hand through his dark hair. He stepped away from the microphone for a moment to collect himself.

"Thanks for your time," he said after a minute, slightly out of breath from pouring himself into his performance just seconds ago.

Riley grinned. "No. Thank you."

* * *

Sabrina Mallory smiled into the microphone, squinting through the stage lights to look at Riley. "Uh, hi Ms. Rodgers," she greeted sweetly. "Can I start?"

Riley nodded. "Of course you can, Sabrina," she assured. "Whenever you're ready."

The British girl grinned, nodding as the recognizable intro to her song began to play. She tapped a beat on her leg, waiting for her cue to come in.

 _I've got my ticket for the long way 'round  
Two bottle whiskey for the way  
And I sure would like some sweet company  
And I'm leaving tomorrow. What d'you say?_

 _When I'm gone, when I'm gone_  
 _You're gonna miss me when I'm gone_  
 _You're gonna miss me by my hair_  
 _You're gonna miss me everywhere, oh_  
 _You're gonna miss me when I'm gone_

* * *

When the beginning chords of Iggy Azalea's Fancy began to play, Riley was a bit sceptical. She hated that song, but surprisingly, she hated it a little bit less when Ashleigh Rayne was singing it.

She was good, definitely not the best singer she had seen that day, but her stage presence was fabulous. She danced around the stage like she owned it, and if anyone had asked, Riley would have said she did. Ashleigh was beautiful too, and her hazel eyes were sparkling as she performed.

"That was great," Riley said as the song finally finished, scribbling down a few notes on her note pad.

Ashleigh beamed. "Thank you," she called, giving a little bow before walking off stage.

* * *

Next, a boy in ripped jeans sauntered onto the stage, guitar hanging around his neck.

"Can play guitar," Riley quickly scribbled down before glancing back up to the boy, who was smirking at her.

"I'm Dylan Jamieson," he said with a cool confidence, smirking to himself and leaning back on his heels in front of the microphone.

Before Riley could tell him to proceed, he adjusted his guitar and began to play. Actually, he began to play extremely well.

 _Is it getting better  
Or do you feel the same  
Will it make it easier on you now  
If you've got someone to blame _

Riley nodded to herself. He was good. He seemed a little stiff on stage, but his smile was charming, and there was always something to be said about a bad boy.

"Good job," Riley praised as Dylan finished, though the boy didn't seem to care, nodding and walking off. "Thank you," Riley called, but her was already gone.

* * *

"Anya Jacobs?"

Riley waited for a moment, about to call the name again when a small blonde girl slowly made her way onto the stage. She reached up when she arrived at the mic stand, quickly adjusting it so it was her height.

"Here," Anya spoke into the mic, thick Russian accent making it somewhat hard to understand her.

Riley smiled at the girl, hoping to comfort her. "When you're ready, sweetheart."

Anya nodded, looking no less small, but set her jaw as the music began playing.

 _I walked around the world a hundred times and realized_ _  
_ _That freight trains and paper planes were just like you and me_

Riley nodded to herself. When singing, Anya's English was almost perfect, unlike when she was just speaking regularly. She was also extremely good.

"High, light voice. Very soft and sweet," Riley wrote.

 _I wandered down the road and met up with a drifter, he said  
_ " _Hey, I don't think we've met, do you need a place to sleep?"  
_ _The tides are changing, the wind will lift you up and baby  
_ _Where you land is where I'm going to be_

Riley leaned back in her chair, almost wanting to close her eyes and drift off to sleep as the girl peacefully sang.

 _Woah, woah, woah, oh  
Where you land is where I'm gonna be  
Woah, woah, oh  
Said where you land is where I'm gonna be_

* * *

"Hey, I'm Elizabeth Fletcher," the next girl introduced, fidgeting in her leather jacket under the hot stage lights. She shook out her unkempt red hair, smirking at Riley. "And I guess I'm going to sing for you."

Riley nodded, watching Liz bob her head to the beat of the My Chemical Romance song that began playing just a moment later.

 _They're gonna clean up your looks  
With all the lies in the books  
To make a citizen out of you  
Because they sleep with a gun  
And keep an eye on you, son  
So they can watch all the things you do_

Elizabeth sang with passion and good stage presence, but the way she was smiling made Riley think that she meant every word she sung.

 _They said all teenagers scare the living shit out of me  
They could care less as long as someone'll bleed  
So darken your clothes or strike a violent pose  
Maybe they'll leave you alone, but not me_

* * *

"Um, is there a Shay Meyers here?"

"Yeah, yeah, hold your horses," an athletic girl said as she stumbled onto stage, pushing her hood back off of her head.

Riley furrowed her brows. "Are you alright, dear?"

Shay smirked up at the teacher, her blue eyes slightly bloodshot. "Just fabulous, darling," she responded flirtatiously.

Unconsciously, Riley reached up to button the top button of her blouse. "Maybe you should sing now, Shay," she suggested, before scribbling down on her paper: "Drugs?"

Shay nodded, a lazy smirk still plastered on her face. "You got it, love."

 _How can you see into my eyes like open doors?_ _  
_ _Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb_ _  
_ _Without a soul my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold_ _  
_ _Until you find it there and lead it back home_

Shay sung with the same lazy smile she spoke with, words slightly sloppy, but her voice was good none the less, and surprisingly smooth for such a song.

 _Wake me up inside_ _  
_ _Wake me up inside_ _  
_ _Call my name and save me from the dark_ _  
_ _Bid my blood to run_ _  
_ _Before I come undone_ _  
_ _Save me from the nothing I've become_

Riley smiled to herself as Shay continued to sing, flipping through the pages of notes she had acquired. This was going to be a good year. She could feel it.

* * *

 **Songs:**

 _I Knew You Were Trouble_ by Taylor Swift

 _Footloose_ by Kenny Loggins

 _Mad World_ by Tears for Fears

 _A Case of You_ by Joni Michelle

 _Harry Potter in 99 Seconds_ by Jon Cozart

 _Thinking Out Loud_ by Ed Sheeran

 _Rolling in the Deep_ by Adele

 _Houdini_ by Foster The People

 _When I'm Gone_ by Anna Kendrick

 _Fancy_ by Iggy Azalea

 _One_ by U2

 _Paper Planes_ by East of Avenue

 _Teenagers_ by My Chemical Romance

 _Wake Me Up Inside_ by Evanescence

 **Thanks for reading :)**


	5. Chapter 3

**A/N: New week, new chapter. I'm excited about this one, because I feel like we are finally getting into the actually story. I hope I've done everyone justice, and if there are any questions feel free to talk to me. And please review.**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

 **WESTBANK HIGH GLEE CLUB**

 **Anya Jacobs**

 **Ashleigh Rayne**

 **Dylan Jamieson**

 **Elizabeth Fletcher**

 **Emilio Rivera**

 **Evan Conaway**

 **Gregory Morin**

 **Jordan Greenaway**

 **Levi Wilson**

 **Perry Dawson**

 **Sabrina Mallory**

 **Shay Meyers**

 **Spencer McCall**

 **Sunny Park**

 **NEXT PRACTICE, TUESDAY, 3:00, CHIOR ROOM**

Ashleigh grinned, jumping up once and clapping her hands together. "We made it," she exclaimed, turning to Dylan. "You must've actually tried during your audition, I told you you were good."

Dylan sighed rolling her eyes and slouching against the wall as he watched his girlfriend. "Yeah, sure babe, whatever you say," he replied sarcastically.

"Oh, hush, I know you tried," Ashleigh argued. "You can't lie to me." She looked back to the sheet, reading over the list of names. "Look, Sabrina made it too."

"Great," Dylan commented, voice filled with boredom. He wasn't even looking at Ashleigh, instead focused on his phone.

Ashleigh ignored that fact that Dylan was ignoring her and continued speaking. "You are coming to practice tomorrow, right?" she asked, hands on her hips when she didn't receive an immediate answer. "Come on, one practice?"

Dylan groaned, finally looking up. "One."

Ashleigh grinned. "Great," she chirped, giving Dylan a quick kiss. "Gotta go to class. Don't cause trouble," she warned playfully, giving Dylan a wink before fluttering away.

* * *

Shay leaned against the wall with her arms crossed as she watched people walk up to the bulletin board to check the newly-posted Glee Club list. It was actually somewhat surprising how popular Glee was. She had already watched at least three people walk away disappointed.

She hadn't gone to check herself yet. She didn't even really care, of course, though she was sure that she was better than half the losers she had watched audition the other day. She wasn't even sure why she had auditioned. Boredom, she reasoned with herself. Besides, there were bound to be tons of nerds in Glee Club for her to mess with.

"I heard Ms. Rodgers say you were way too nasally," she told another saddened girl as she passed, voice feigning comfort because she didn't make it. The girl's face contorted with dejection, and Shay didn't even wait until she had turned the corner to begin laughing. It was just much too easy to mess with these people, they were practically begging her to do it.

The bell rang, but Shay made no move to leave her post against the wall. Soon, the halls cleared out, and she was basically alone, just staring at the bulletin board from across the hall. There was no way she could read it from where she was. She pursed her plump lips, glancing down the hallway to make sure no one was around to see her read the Glee Club listing of all things.

Shay pushed herself off of the wall, brushing her dirty blond bangs from her eyes as she sauntered lazily across the hall. She was in no rush to see the board, or to get to History class, for the matter.

Soon enough she reached the bulletin board, straightening up slightly as her eyes scanned it quickly.

"Hm," she murmured to herself. There she was, three names from the bottom. "Interesting."

A door opened, and Shay quickly slid away from the board just as a teacher stuck their head out into the hallway.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" they questioned.

Shay shoved her hands into her pockets, rolling her eyes. "Yeah yeah," she said. "I'm on my way."

* * *

Sabrina tapped her pen against her desk, desperately trying to pay attention as Ms. Rodgers spoke. It was easier said than done, though, considering their first Glee Club meeting was only twenty minutes away. She hadn't been focused all day, and now it was last period and she was so close to being done school. Even Rodgers was excited, Sabrina could tell. She had looked at the clock five times in as many minutes during her lesson.

Sabrina sighed to herself, as quietly as she could, but the boy next to her still shot her a dirty look before quickly returning his eyes to the front of the class. Sabrina rolled her blue eyes, that kid obviously didn't have anything better to do than sit in class and talk about _Lord of the Flies._ Not that it wasn't a good book, of course, there were just other places she wanted to be.

Like at Glee Club. Sabrina wanted to be at Glee Club.

She still had about fifteen minutes to wait though, and she was sure those fifteen minutes were going to feel more like fifty if how the last five had passed by was any indication.

"Will you stop that?" hissed the boy from beside her, breaking Sabrina out of her thoughts.

Sabrina blinked, eyes leaving the clock and narrowing on the boy. "Stop what?"

He nodded his head to her pen. "That annoying tapping," he replied.

Sabrina glanced at her pen, which was hovering above her notebook, ready to hit back down and make another noise. She rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she said. "Only if you stop that annoying thing you're doing with your voice," she retorted.

"What?"

"Talking," Sabrina replied with a smirk, turning her head back to the front, but setting her pen down anyway. Her eyes flickered to the clock once more. At least her conversation with her classmate had taken up three minutes.

Three minutes. _Only_ three minutes. Sabrina groaned, out loud, throwing her head back and ignoring the looks from some of her annoyed classmates. She didn't even bother to see if Ms. Rodgers had heard. The teacher would understand anyway.

Twenty minutes was starting to feel like forever.

* * *

"Come on, Levi, let's get outta here," a boy with shaggy brown hair called to his friend, pulling up his sagging pants.

"I can't, Chris," Levi said, shrugging.

Chris furrowed his brows. "Why not, man?" he questioned. "There's no way you wanna spend any more time in this Hell hole than you need to," he continued.

"Well, yeah."

"Do you have some lame club meeting to go to or something?" Chris wondered jokingly.

Levi chuckled, brushing off the comment. "Nah, man, detention," he explained, a lie of course.

Chris nodded, that made sense. "What did you do this time?"

"As if I know," Levi said with a casual chuckle. "Anyway, get out of here, I'll see you later."

Chris nodded, picking up his backpack. "Alright," he replied, turning and slowly walking away.

Levi waited until his friend was around the corner and out of sight before moving. No way did her want anyone knowing that he was going to Glee Club. It was something to do though, better than going home, but his friends didn't need to know that.

He entered the choir room with his backpack slung over one shoulder, smirking as he spotted a familiar face sitting in the back row. He moved to plop down in the seat next to her.

"Hey there, little orphan Annie."

Perry turned to face him, scooting her chair farther away. Her eyes narrowed. "What did I say about calling me that," she snapped.

"Alright, whatever. What are you doing here anyway?" he questioned.

"Perhaps I just love show choir," Perry responded, voice dripping with sarcasm. "What about you, tough guy?"

Levi shrugged, demeanour changing. "Something to do, I guess."

Perry smirked, well aware that she had struck a chord. "I don't care, anyway," she assured, leaning forwards, elbows resting against her knees. "What I really want to know is what gave you the bright idea that we were friends."

"We aren't," Levi replied.

"Right," Perry confirmed. "Then why the hell are you talking to me?" she retorted, sitting back in her chair and once again facing the front.

Levi grumbled to himself, facing the front as well. He didn't even know why he was talking to Perry in the first place, he just liked to annoy her, but then again, she was pretty good at getting the last word, which he hated, so what was the point? Whatever. Glee was about to start anyway.

* * *

The bell had rang about ten minutes ago when Anya Jacobs made her way into the choir room, clutching her shoulder bag in one hand.

The choir room wasn't very big, but big enough for a piano and a set of drums. A couple of guitars were even resting against the dirty chalkboard at the front. There were three microphones, complete with stands that Anya nearly tripped over as she passed. She didn't see the point of them anyway, the room was small enough that you would be able to hear someone sing without them. Well, maybe not herself, but she had always been kind of quiet.

At the other side of the room, three rows of blue plastic chairs were set up. The meeting hadn't even started yet, and still the seats was pretty full.

A small boy sat in the front row, bouncing up and down in his seat, face full of excitement. Two seats down from him, a Korean girl sat with a straight back, eyes trained on the front. Also in the front, two girls sat chatting animatedly. The boy next the them was slouched in his chair, listening and giving a nod every so often to one of the girls, the one with dark hair, who would give him a beautiful smile.

Anya passed two boys in the second row who looked to be in deep conversation.

"Come on, Greg, lighten up," the one said. "We aren't even missing practice."

The boy called Greg nodded. "Alright," he agreed, though he didn't sound at all enthusiastic.

Another boy sat in the same row, a couple seat down. He was twiddling his thumbs, vivid green eyes roaming around the room. He caught Anya's gaze, and gave her a small, charming smile.

Anya looked away, blushing, eyes travelling down the row to a redhead would was leaning back in her chair, feet up on a second on. She looked to be listening to others' conversations, chuckling to herself.

Anya glanced down at her feet, moving towards the back row.

On the other end of the set of chairs sat a girl and a boy, both tanned. The girl was leaning back in her chair, arms crossed, as the boy spoke to her, smirk on his face even as she continued to ignore him.

Anya sat in the back corner, closest to her was a small girl who was fidgeting with her hands. She turned to Anya as she sat down, eyes narrowing into a scrutinizing gaze.

"You," she said. "You're the girl who ran into me in the hall last week."

Anya frowned, taken aback by the accusation. "Pardon me?" she wondered. She ran into many people.

The girl scowled. "You need to learn how to walk," she stated simply.

"Sorry," Anya murmured, looking away. She glanced around the room once more, doing a quick count in her head and furrowing her brows. There were fifteen people, including herself, but she could've sworn there had been sixteen names on the sheet. Was someone not coming?

Just as Anya was thinking that, the door swung open and the sixteenth member strolled in. She was athletic and muscular, with eyes that were very blue. She was extremely pretty, Anya noticed, though found herself reddening at the thought. The girl moved across the room lazily, not making eye contact with anyone as she plopped herself dead centre in the second row of chairs.

Moments later, Ms. Rodgers stepped out of the connecting office and into the choir room, as if she had just been watching and waiting for the last girl to arrive. She moved to the centre of the room, facing the group at kids and smiling brightly at them, though Anya could tell by the wringing of her hands that she was quite nervous.

"Alright, hey guys," she began, somewhat lamely. "I'm Ms. Rodgers, as I'm sure you all know, and welcome to the first meeting of Westbank's first ever Glee Club," she exclaimed.

There was a pregnant pause where nobody spoke, and Ms. Rodgers eyes scanned the room as if she expected at least one person to respond enthusiastically. When nobody did, or even showed that the might consider it, Ms. Rodgers clapped her hands together nervously, and the sharp sound made Anya jump in her chair slightly.

"Okay so I'm sure most of you already know how this works, but I'll go over it. So the point of a Glee Club is to choreograph to and perform songs in competitions. We need 12 people to compete, and we have 16, so that's good," Ms. Rodgers explained, eyes bright with excitement. "And our first competition is in early December," she finished. "Any questions?"

Again nobody responded, and yet that didn't seem to deter Ms. Rodgers in the slightest, because she was still grinning brightly. "Also, practices will be Tuesdays and Fridays normally, and we will make them more often when competition approaches, or if we want. Does that cause any problems for anyone?"

The boy in front of Anya in the second row raised his hand. "Um, sometimes we have basketball games on Fridays," he explained, motioning between him and the boy sitting to his left.

"Oh, and we might have cheer if there is a game going on later," piped up the blonde girl in the front row.

Ms. Rodgers nodded. "Okay, that's alright," she assured. "Just try and make as many practices as you can, and you might have to skip your other activities when we have a performance coming up," she explained. "Anyway, let's get to this week's assignment."

The teacher backed up to the chalk board behind her, turning to scribble on it in neat printing.

 _Introductions,_ it read.

"Introductions," Ms. Rodgers read out loud, smiling at the group. "When you guys come back here on Friday, I want you to prepare a song that you would like to use to introduce yourself to the rest of the group. Whether it is your favourite song, or something you think describes you well, or just a song that makes you happy, doesn't matter," she continued.

Those who had someone sitting with them turned to the other person to quietly converse, and soon the murmuring filled the room. Anya glanced to her side, but when she did the girl next to her wasn't even looking, for which she was thankful. Anya didn't really want to talk to anyone, mostly because she had no idea what song she could sing. There was no way she could sing something in Russian without everybody thinking she was strange, and no one would understand her anyways. Maybe she just wouldn't sing anything at all.

Ms. Rodgers clapped her hands together again, and this time Anya didn't jump. "Alright kids," she said, eyes bright. "Get your songs ready, I'll see you Friday.

* * *

"Eh, look, EJ is home," cried Emilio's older brother Max as he slipped through the side door and into the kitchen. Max grinned, leaning against the counter. "What's up, junior?"

"Shut up, Max," Emilio grumbled under his breath.

"Hey, Emilio, don't be rude to your brother," snapped his father, entering to room. Oscar Rivera was a tall, dark-haired man with a stern looking face and an even more stern disposition. He straightened his tie as he made his way into the kitchen. He probably just got home from work a few minutes ago, perfect timing.

EJ shrunk visibly, all the comfort and happiness that had bubbled inside him during Glee Club slowly diminishing. "Sorry, Pop," he mumbled apologetically. He was always significantly quieter around his family than he was at school.

Oscar nodded. "Good boy," he said to his youngest, crossing his arms. "Where were you anyway, son? I see you're just getting home. Didn't school end a couple hours ago?"

EJ bit his lip, hesitating. "Yeah Pop, I uh..." he trailed off, rubbing the back of his head. "I was at basketball practice."

Oscar furrowed his dark brows. "I thought there wasn't any practice on Tuesdays," he replied.

"Yeah, there's not," Emilio responded. "Uh, Greg and I just wanted to get some extra practice in, coach says we need to work on our defence," he lied quickly, shifting his weight from side to side.

Oscar nodded, considering this for a moment. "Alright," he decided. "Now go clean up. Your mother says dinner is in ten."

"Yes, Pop," EJ replied, quickly turning and fleeing up to her bedroom.

Once upstairs, he closed his bedroom door behind him and flopped down onto his bed. Emilio took a moment to breathe. He hated lying to his family, but then again he had been lying to them foe quote some time now. Either way, he couldn't tell them that he had joined Glee Club. He was already the black sheep of the family, and if there was one thing EJ didn't want to do it was to alienate himself further from the rest of his family.

Rivera boys didn't sing and dance, it wasn't something they did. Except Emilio, of course, but some days he wished that he had never been a Rivera at all.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed! If you have an idea for what your character would sing for the first assignment, please tell me!**

 **Thanks for reading.**


	6. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey, so let's pretend this isn't late and doesn't suck. Thanks!**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

Speedy ducked his head as he walked quickly through the halls, easily weaving between the numerous people that were moving slower than him.

"Hey," he called ahead as he spotted a face that he recognized several paces in front of him. "Hey!" he tried again, louder this time, but they still didn't turn around. Pausing to sigh loudly to himself, Speedy once again broke from the flow of people a passed several students to get to the one he was looking for. "Hey, you're in Glee Club, right?" he questioned.

Greg turned to look at the younger boy, brows furrowing. "Um, yeah," he answered after a moment's paused. "Sure."

Speedy nodded, hair flopping around his face as his head moved rapidly up and down. "Yeah, me too," he responded. "I'm Speedy."

That was a strange name. "Greg."

"Cool," Speedy replied, grinning at him.

Greg nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking at Speedy skeptically. There was a minute of silence before Greg spoke up again. "So, what's up?" he questioned, too nice to just ignore the boy or walk away. He must have wanted something though, or else he wouldn't have approached him. Then again, Speedy did seem like the type to chase someone down just to chat.

"Nothing much," Speedy responded simply, still managing to rock back and forth even as he was walking the same pace as Greg. Then again, he never could sit still, or even just walk with fidgeting around. "You come up with a song for the first Glee assignment yet?"

Greg shook his head. Honestly, he hadn't even thought about it. "Uh, no, not yet," he responded with a shrug. "Have you?"

"Yeah," Speedy replied quickly, then paused, tilting his head to the side. "Well, no. Kinda, I guess," he continued. "I mean, I've got a couple ideas."

Greg nodded. "Cool," he responded, not pushing for more details. "And you're going perform on Friday?" he wondered.

Speedy shrugged. "Maybe, probably," he said. "Not too sure about that one either."

"Okay," said Greg simply, pausing and slipping out of the sea of people and off to the side of the hall, the other boy following him with ease. "Well, uh, this is my class," he murmured, jabbing a thumb towards the room behind him.

Speedy grinned. "Alright," he said, giving Greg a high five before he could eve register what was happening. "See you later then," he called over his shoulder as she moved back into the middle of the hall and around the corner.

Greg smiled to himself, nodding. "Yeah, see you later."

* * *

 _There's a song that's inside of my soul_ _  
_ _It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again_ _  
_ _I'm awake in the infinite cold_ _  
_ _But You sing to me over and over and over again_

Sunny glanced down at the lyrics she had printed out, mental chastising herself for not yet having the song she was going to perform tomorrow memorized yet.

She took a deep breath and began singing again.

 _Sing to me the song of the stars_ _  
_ _Of Your galaxy dancing and laughing_ _  
_ _and laughing again_ _  
_ _When it feels like my dreams are so far_ _  
_ _Sing to me of the plans that You have for me over again_

 _So I lay my head back down_ _  
_ _And I lift my hands and pray_ _  
_ _To be only yours_ _  
_ _I pray to be only yours_ _  
_ _I know now you're my only hope_

The door of her bedroom creaked open, and Sunny's mouth slammed shut.

"Sunny?" he farther questioned sharply, entering the room without being invited in. "What are you doing."

"P-practising, father," Sunny responded, head held high. "For glee club."

Eugene furrowed his brows at his daughter. "Glee club?" he repeated in a gruff voice. "Do you not have any work to do?"

Sunny shook her head, retreating back and sitting down on her clean, white bedspread, slightly wrinkling the corners of her already-made bed. "I finished already."

The door swung open again, and in came Sunny's mother, Mina, a large smile on her face like usual. She grinned at her husband as she passed him, moving to sit next to Sunny.

"Hello you two," she greeted. "Was that singing I heard?"

Sunny nodded, looking down. "Yes."

"Well, don't be embarrassed, honey," Mina assured, tucking a hand under Sunny's chin and lifting her head up. "It was wonderful."

Sunny nodded, a small smile appearing on her face as she looked at her mother.

"Why don't you practice again," Mina suggested softly. "I would love to hear, and I'm sure your father would too," she said, looking up at the man.

Eugene was about to answer when her phone rang, and he reaching into his pocket to pick it up. "Business," he explained quickly, putting the phone to his ear and exiting the room.

Mina's smile had only faded slightly when she looked back to her daughter. "Go ahead," she prompted. "I'd like to here."

Sunny nodded, standing up again. She took a deep breath, and began to sing.

* * *

"You know, Dylan, you can talk to me."

Dylan rolled his eyes, leaning back in the plush chair. "Is that right, Mr. Wayne?" he questioned sarcastically. "And here I am just coming here to see your beautiful face."

The guidance councillor sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Now, Dylan, no need to be so hostile," he reasoned.

Dylan resisted the urge to roll his eyes again. "Now, Mr. Wayne, you and I both know that I'm always pretty hostile."

"So, how are you?" Mr. Wayne wondered, changing the subject quickly. He leaned forwards to look at Dylan, folding his hands in front of him."This is your third time seeing me this week. Everything alright?"

Dylan smirked his usual smirk. "I thought I told you," he said. "I just love seeing your ugly mug."

Mr. Wayne ignored the insult. "Have your nightmares been bad lately?"

Dylan's smirk quickly turned into a frown. "No," he denied.

"Dylan..."

Dylan stood, gathering his things quickly. "You know what, I gotta go," he said. "I've got practice. See ya, Wayne."

Mr. Wayne opened his mouth to respond, but Dylan was already gone.

* * *

Jordan really had no clue why she was here in the first place.

Because really, what was she going to do in Glee Club? Basically, all she had done was listen to the overly-excited Ms. Rodgers go on and on about the wonders of show choir, and watched a couple sub-par, pimple-riddled teens perform covers of popular songs. There was really nothing keeping her here.

Then again, she wasn't going to leave either.

She glanced back up to the girl performing, saddened to see that she wasn't even close to being finished. At least her singing wasn't half-bad, and she had rhythm, but was entirely to bubbly for Jordan's liking.

Sabrina grinned, bouncing up and down as she continued to sing.

 _'Cause you are the piece of me I wish I didn't need_ _  
_ _Chasing relentlessly, still fight and I don't know why_

 _If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?_ _  
_ _If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?_

And could she have picked a more cliche pop song? Probably not, considering Jordan had heard those same lyrics on the radio at least twenty times. Besides, how was this song even an introduction. Who was this girl's 'clarity', or was she perhaps the clarity herself? Jordan just didn't get how other people's thought process worked sometimes.

What was the girl's name again? Jordan tilted her head to the side, zoning out of the performance as she thought. Sabrina. The cheerleader, that explained it.

Jordan sighed. This was going to be a long meeting.

* * *

 _I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation  
You're living in the past, it's a new generation  
A girl can do what she wants to do and that's what I'm gonna do_

Perry bobbed her head to the music as she sung, and Elizabeth found that she was nodding her head along as well, a grin on her face as she watched the other girl perform.

 _An' I don't give a damn 'bout my reputation  
Never said I wanted to improve my station  
An' I'm only doin' good when I'm havin' fun  
An' I don't have to please no one _

Liz smiled, singing along under her breath. Maybe she should have picked this song, but then again, Perry was totally rocking.

 _An' I don't give a damn 'bout my bad reputation  
Oh no, not me, oh no, not me  
Not me, not me_

Perry smirked as she finished her song, flipping the mic up in the air and catching it. She shoved the mic stand to the side, taking her seat as the rest of the group clapped for her.

"I'll go next," Liz offered before Ms. Rodgers could even ask, standing and moving to the centre of the room. She whispered a couple instructions to the band people, then prepared herself to begin, grinning with excitement.

 _I'm on the train that's pullin the sick and twisted,  
Makin the most of the ride before we get arrested,  
We're all wasted,  
And we're not going home tonight. _

She could see a small smile appearing on Perry's face at her song choice, and it made Liz feel even better. The girl named Shay rolled her eyes, and Levi in the back was nodding his head.

 _If you're a freak like me,  
Wave your flag!  
If you're a freak like me,  
Get off your ass!  
It's our time now,  
To let it all hang out _

Everyone began to smile to themselves as the listened to the performance, and it made Liz feel light inside. Maybe. Just maybe, everybody else here was a freak too.

* * *

 _Some say you're trouble, boy_ _  
_ _Just because you like to destroy_ _  
_ _All the things that bring the idiots joy_ _  
_ _Well, what's wrong with a little destruction?_

Evan held his hands in front of him as he sung, nothing else with him as he sung, nor any other sounds but that of the quiet track in the background. The room quickly quieted, everyone's attention turning to the boy onstage.

 _Up now and get 'em, boy_ _  
_ _Up now and get 'em, boy_ _  
_ _Drink to the devil and death at the doctors_

Evan continued to sing, hand moving over his heart as he did so. It seemed as if he was singing only to himself, and not to all the others, but the charm in her voice had a soothing effect over the group.

 _In my blood I feel the bubbles burst_ _  
_ _There was a flash of fist, an eyebrow burst_ _  
_ _You've a lazy laugh and a red white shirt_ _  
_ _I fell to the floor fainting at the sight of blood_

Confidence growing as his song progressed, Evan slowly began moving to the music, using the whole floor and feeding off the smiles of the other members. By the time he was finished, his heart was beating loudly in his chest.

Everyone broke out into applause, and Evan couldn't remember the last time he had been this happy, not since Noah. He smiled, and took a small bow. Maybe glee club really was a good thing. "Thank you."


	7. Chapter 5

**A/N: Fell asleep last night before I could post this, so sorry about that. I've been really busy with work too, but I promise that I will keep updating this story! Again, if you have any song ideas for this next assignment, shoot me a PM. And please review, I like to know what you are thinking and liking and not liking.**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

"Ashleigh!" Briar Matthews-Rayne called from the bottom of the stairs. "Come on, sweetheart, it's time to go."

Ashleigh stuck her head out from the bathroom, half-way through putting her eyeliner on. "I'm coming, I'm coming," she assured before turning back to the mirror. "I don't know why we have to be so early," she grumbled quietly to herself.

"I have to meet with a student before school," Briar responded, and Ashleigh winced. Maybe she wasn't as quiet as she thought she was being.

A few minutes later, Ashleigh made her way down the stairs, hair and makeup done, looking beautiful as always. She gathered her stuff, trying to ignore the annoyed look of her mother from the doorway.

"Bye Daddy," Ashleigh murmured as she passed Jackson Rayne in the kitchen, giving her father a quick kiss on the cheek. "See you tonight."

"Bye, sweetie," he called, watching her flutter away.

"Okay," Ashleigh said as she slipped on her shoes. "Let's go."

Briar nodded, picking up her purse. "Alright, come on," she said, picking up her purse and moving to the door. "Bye honey," she called over her shoulder as she exited the house, Ashleigh close behind her.

Ashleigh followed her mother into the car, humming to herself.

 _Cause when I'm kissing you my senses come alive_ _  
_ _Almost like the puzzle piece I've been trying to find_ _  
_ _Falls right into place you're all that it takes_ _  
_ _My doubts fade away when I'm kissing you_

"What are you singing?" Briar questioned as she slid her key into the ignition, starting the car up and pulling out of the driveway.

Ashleigh paused, turning to her mother. "Oh, just something I sung in Glee last week," she explained.

Briar nodded. "Yes, Riley Rodger's club. Are you enjoying yourself?"

"Yes," Ashleigh said, brightening. "It's fun."

"Is everyone there nice?"

Ashleigh sighed, rolling her eyes. "Yes mother, everything is fine," she assured, glancing out the window as they pulled up to the school, her mother parking the car in the nearly empty parking lot. They always got here early, even compared to the other teachers, and especially compared to the other students.

Her mother stopped the car, slipping outside and grabbing her things from the backseat. Ashleigh followed slowly, lazily walking over to her mother.

"I'll see you after school, yes?" Briar questioned as she the walked through the parking lot and into Westbank High.

"Actually, I have practice," she said. "And then I think Dylan and I are going to do something."

Briar scowled at the mention of Dylan, and Ashleigh scowled. "Why do you do that every time I talk about him?" she questioned sharply, knowing very well that her mother didn't approve of her boyfriend.

"What face?"

Ashleigh rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she murmured, turning down the hall the led to her locker. "See you later," she called over her shoulder, pretending she didn't hear her mom calling after her.

* * *

Ms. Rodgers clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention, as she often did, smiling brightly at the group. She was much too excited for an adult who was about to spend an hour with some generally disgruntled teenagers. Emilio didn't really mind anyways, he kind of enjoyed her enthusiasm actually.

"So, guys, fabulous job last week, everyone who performed an introduction song did wonderfully," she praised, eyes sparkling. "Sorry to those who didn't get a chance to perform, which is why I think I'm going to start holding glee club three times a week, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. I would like for everyone to try and make it to at least two practices a week, sound good?' Without waiting for an answer, Ms. Rodgers clapped her hands together once more. "Now, onto this week's assignment."

The teacher stepped back, turning to write on the board.

"Duets?" Emilio questioned out loud, nodding. "Sweet."

"Lame," coughed Shay from the front seat.

EJ rolled his eyes. "You're lame," he shot back impulsively.

"Enough," Ms. Rodgers snapped, and EJ sunk back into his chair. He had never heard her speak so sharply. Her face re-brightened quickly, and she picked a piece of paper off of the piano.

"So, last night I put all your names in a hat and random drew your partners," Ms. Rodgers announced excitedly. She smiled at the teen, looking as if she were waiting for someone to give her a drum roll. When nobody did, she returned her eyes to the paper.

"Perry and Elizabeth," she read out.

EJ glanced around, looking for the two girls in question. Liz had a small smile on her face, nodding as she glanced back at Perry, who met her gaze for a moment before nodding and looking away.

Ms. Rodgers grinned, probably happy that there hadn't been any complaining yet. "Dylan and Levi."

A scoff came from the front corner, immediately followed by a reprimanding from Ashleigh, who was rolling her eyes at her boyfriend.

"Sunny and Greg," Ms. Rodgers announced next.

EJ elbowed Greg beside him, who nodded and grinned, eyes searching the room for his new-found partner.

"Anya and Spencer."

Speedy grinned from the front, turning and waving to Anya, who shyly smiled back at him.

"Alright," Ms. Rodgers continued, her excitement still not dissipating. "Sabrina and Ashleigh."

There was a excited squeal from the front row, and EJ turned his head just in time to see Sabrina and Ashleigh high five each other.

Ms. Rodgers eyes scanned the page. "Shay and Jordan."

Besides the rolling of Shay's eyes, neither girl made any move that indicated that they had even heard what their teacher had just said.

"And finally, Evan and Emilio."

Emilio nodded to himself, turning to meet Evan's green eyes, who were staring back at him from across the room. The older boy gave a charming smile, and EJ felt himself blushing before he turned away.

"Alright, so that's all for now," Ms. Rodgers said, still beaming. "I'll let you guys get to it."

The room slowly erupted into noise. Sabrina and Ashleigh were chatting animatedly at the front, Dylan still sat beside his girlfriend, not making any move to go see Levi. Speedy was making his way up to Anya, who sat close to a now-reading Jordan, who seemed more focused on her book than she did on Shay. Not that Shay was making any move to interact with her either. EJ looked around. Then again, Shay might've left all together.

EJ watched as Liz stood to meet Perry. "So, you free tomorrow after school? Your house or mine?" he heard Liz ask somewhat awkwardly.

"Yours," Perry responded without a second thought, tone decisive.

Liz nodded. "Okay, sounds good."

Emilio turned to Greg, who had just patted him on the shoulder. "I'm going to go talk to Sunny," he said, motioning to the girl in the corner. "Wish me luck."

"Luck," EJ responded quickly as his friend moved away.

"So," Evan said as he approached EJ, pulling a hand out of the pocket of his jeans. "I guess we're partners."

Emilio nodded, standing. "Guess so."

Evan offered him a hand. "I don't think we've really met," he continued. "I'm Evan."

Emilio grinned, taking his hand. "You can call me EJ."

* * *

"So, what do you think of this whole duet thing?" Evan asked, turning to Shay and lowering his voice so their teacher didn't hear.

Shay turned slowly to look at Evan, eyes narrowing. "You're really gonna talk to me?" she asked sharply.

Evan furrowed his brows. "Well, yeah, I'm just trying to be nice," he said. " All I was wondering is if you thought the assignment for this week was cool or not."

Shay rolled her eyes. "I think its lame," she responded lazily. "No way am I going to get together with that freak of a girl and sing some song."

"Oh," Evan said, sinking back into his chair. Then again, he probably should have expected that answer anyway, or at least something that was just as snarky. "Well, I think Emilio and I are actually going to perform something."

"Have fun with that," scoffed Shay sarcastically.

"So you aren't even going to prepare a song or anything?"

Shay sighed. "Do you not speak English?" she questioned. "I said I'm not going to talk to that dweeb that Rodgers paired we with, which I think means we probably won't be singing together."

Evan sighed. Fine, if she didn't want to talk to him, then she didn't have to. He turned his attention back to the front, trying desperately to focus on math instead of the broken girl sitting next to him.

* * *

Levi snuck quietly into the house, creeping through the kitchen on his toes in a desperate attempt not to wake his sleeping mother, who had passed out on the living room coach.

It was just after school, and the house already felt dark and heavy. He wondered if his mother had even gone outside at all today. Then again, he wouldn't be very surprised if she hadn't, she didn't often leave the house any more, not since his father had left.

Levi tried his best to tidy up the messy kitchen, but gave up after the clinking of plates and empty bottles caused his mother to stir.

"Levi?" came the sharp call from the coach. Ava Black glared at him through dark, bloodshot eyes, her black hair dishevelled. "What are you doing, boy?" she questioned, motioning for him to approach her.

Levi did so, ringing his hands in front of him. "Just cleaning up, ma," he said, wrinkling his nose at the heavy smell of alcohol that surrounded her.

"Well you're being awfully loud about it," spat Ava, eyes rolling.

Levi's hand curled into a fist. "Sorry, ma," he said through his teeth.

"Get out of here, boy," Ava said, waving a lazy hand through the air.

Levi nodded, exiting the room without a word, and if his mother wasn't so drunk, he might've been worried about her hearing him angrily smashing his fingers against the keys of his piano.

* * *

"Mom, Dad, I'm home," Elizabeth called as she stepped through the threshold of her house, Perry trailing closely behind. She kicked off her shoes, moving further into a the house and motioning for Perry to follow her.

It was a nice house, averaged-sized and fairly neat, except for Liz's room of course, which was full of clutter and dark clothing. She had tried to tidy up a bit, but still... "Sorry about the mess," Liz apologized as she led Perry upstairs in and into her bedroom.

Perry nodded, not responding. She had her hands in the pockets of her too-big jeans, face neutral and she slowly looked around Elizabeth's room. It made Liz feel a little weird, like she was under a microscope, even if Perry wasn't even looking at her. No one had really paid that much attention to her before.

"Elizabeth, I thought I heard you come in-," Elizabeth's mother began, pausing as she saw Perry. "Oh, um, hello," she said, slightly taken aback, for which Liz feel a bit sheepish. She didn't often bring friends around.

Perry turned, setting down the book that she had picked up off Liz's desk. She offered the older woman a small smile and held out her hand. "I'm Perry," she introduced. "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Fletcher."

"Please, call me Kathrine," she replied, recovering from her surprise and taking Perry's hand, giving it a shake. She stepped back, looking at the two girls. "Well...is there anything I can get your girls?" she asked.

"I think we're good mom, thanks," Liz responded quickly. "We just have to practice something for Glee."

Katherine nodded. "Okay, well, I'm here if you need anything," she said, biting her lip. She stood there uncomfortably for another moment, watching Perry. "And, um, leave the door open, alright?"

"Mom," Liz groaned, blushing. "Don't do that," she exclaimed.

'Liz, honey, I'm just being a mother," Katherine protested.

Elizabeth flushed even more, glancing to Perry before looking back at her mom. "Stop," she hissed. "Perry isn't even gay."

"Oh, I am," Perry spoke up before either woman could speak again, resulting in two sets of eyes turning onto her. "Gay, I mean. I'm gay," she clarified simply. "But I promise, Mrs. Fletcher, I have no ill intentions with your daughter."

Katherine gaped at the Spanish girl, nodded. She glanced back at her daughter. "Um, yes, well, door open," she reminded before quickly fleeing the room.

"You and your mother look a lot alike," Perry commented after a beat of silence, turning to look at Liz, who had her mouth wide open. "What?"

Elizabeth swallowed, trying to collect herself. She had never seen anyone come out so casually, but then again Perry had probably done it a dozen times before, just not to Liz. "You're, um...really good with people's parents," she said finally.

Perry hardened again. "Yeah," she responded.

"Are you that nice to your parents?"

Perry furrowed her brows. "Why wouldn't I be good with other people's parents?" she asked sharply. "I happen to think I'm quite charming."

"You are!" Elizabeth assured quickly, and then felt her cheeks grow hot again. She looked away, biting her lip, and she when Perry didn't speak again, took a deep breath. "And you're gay?"

"I am," Perry said, tilting her head to the side and giving Elizabeth a small smile. "I didn't think you'd have a problem with it, considering..." she teased, raising a brow.

"I don't, I don't," Elizabeth nodded quickly. "So, have any ideas for our song?" she asked quickly, changing to subject.

Perry sat back on Liz's bed, pulling a laptop out of her backpack. "I had a few different options in mind..." she began typing quickly.

Elizabeth sat down beside her, glanced over Perry's shoulder. They spoke in quiet voices, considering that the door was open, and Elizabeth found herself enjoying Perry's company a lot more than she would've expect. They got along really well, and that didn't usually happen.

Perry also had a beautiful voice, and it always surprised Elizabeth when the other girl sang. Then again, she had only really heard her once before, and not like this. It was fun, singing with a friend, and by the time 2 hours had passed Liz's throat was beginning to get sore.

"My parents say you can stay for dinner, if you want," Elizabeth offered as she re-entered the room, handing Perry a glass of water.

Perry nodded. "Sure," she responded. "I would-" She was cut off but the ringing of her phone, and Perry dug in her bag to pull of the cell, answering her quickly. "Hello?"

Perry stood holding the phone close to her ear. Liz couldn't make out what the person on the other end was saying, but watched as Perry's brows furrowed.

"Whoa, slow down there baby, okay?"

A flash a jealousy ripped through Liz's stomach at the sound of the pet name, but she quickly ignored it.

Perry was already beginning to gather her things. "Okay, it's okay, baby, I'll be right there," she assured. "Okay, love you too. Bye." She hung up the phone, throwing her backpack over her shoulder and looking up at Liz. "Elizabeth...I have to go," she said, voice apologetic. "Tell your parents I'm sorry, um, bye," she called over her shoulder, rushing out of the room.

"Bye," Liz murmured, but Perry was already gone.


	8. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hello again, my lovely readers. Hope you're still sticking with this, because I know I am. I have fallen in love with your characters, and have planned out up to the 20th chapter of this story, so I'm in it for the long haul. Okay, so duets. Every character will perform a duet, whether in this chapter or the next. Thanks for reading and reviewing, and I'll see you all next week!**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

"Hey," Greg greeted, sliding into a seat across from Sunny and setting his books down on the table. "So what's up?" he asked.

Sunny glanced up from her textbook. "I'm studying," she answered simply, as if there was nothing else she would ever be doing in the library.

"Oh," Greg nodded, inwardly cursing himself for asking such a stupid question. "Well, can I sit here too?" he wondered.

Sunny eyed him. "I suppose so," she responded after a moment.

Greg nodded again, flipping open his binder. He picked up a pen, quickly scribbling a few things down on his page. They sat in silence for several minutes before Greg finally cracked. "When do you want to practice for our duet?" he asked.

"Greg..." Sunny began, sighing.

"How about tonight, after school?"

Sunny bit her lip. "I've got to study."

"Okay," Greg interrupted quickly. "Tomorrow then, we can meet here," he suggested, gathering his things before Sunny could protest. "You're the best Sunny. I gotta go to practice, see you tomorrow!" With that, he rushed out of the library.

Sunny watched him go, mouth opening to speak. She closed her lips, blushing slightly. _The best._

* * *

"Hey, hey, Anya," Speedy called, easily catching up to the girl as she moved through the halls, books clutched to her chest. "You were supposed to text me about meeting up to practice for Glee," he informed, frowning slightly.

"Oh, sorry," Anya stuttered, looking genuinely sheepish. She pulled her earphones out of her ears in order to speak to the boy. "I must have forgotten."

Speedy shrugged. "That's cool," he assured, slowing down slightly in order to match Anya's pace. "We can talk now. Where are you headed?" he wondered.

"Room 202," she responded quickly.

"Cool, let's go then," Speedy said, leading them forwards.

"Wait," called Anya, falling behind a bit. She tilted her head to one side. "This way," she instructed, moving to the left.

"But the stairs are this way," Speedy argued, pausing in the middle of the hall and motioning to the right.

Anya looking nervous, blushing as people complained around them, bumping shoulders with the pair. She quickly grabbed Speedy by the arm, pulling him to the side. "I do not take the stairs," she said simply, offering no further explanation as she led Speedy towards the elevators.

For once, Speedy was silent, following the other girl. He watched as she pulled a key out from the chain around her neck, sticking it in the hole and turning it to the side. The elevator doors slide open with a ding. Anya moved inside, and Speedy followed.

"So..." Speedy began, rocking back and forth on his heels. "Why do you ha-"

"You said you wanted to talk about practising for Glee?" Anya interrupted, tone slightly deflective but eyes wide and innocent.

Speedy paid no attention, easily changing subjects. "Yeah," he said. "So, do you want to stay after school today or something and try to figure out our duet?"

Anya nodded. "Sure," she replied in her soft, accented voice. "That sounds good."

Speedy nodded. "Cool," he said as the elevator slide to a stop, giving off a loud ding as the doors opened. "So we can meet in the choir room?" he wondered.

"Yes, sure," Anya agreed quickly. "I will see you there. Goodbye," she murmured, exiting the elevator and taking off down the hall quicker than Speedy had ever seen her move.

* * *

Shay frowned as she entered the office, eyes narrowing. "What's she doing here?" she questioned, motioning to Jordan, who was already seated in front of Ms. Rodger's desk.

"Shay!" Ms. Rodgers greeted brightly, ignoring the girl's previous comment. "Please, sit," she said, pointing to the empty chair next to Jordan.

Shay eyed the teacher suspiciously, slowly moving to sit down. She slid into the chair, dropping her bag down beside her. "What's this about?" she questioned.

Ms. Rodger's folded her hands atop her desk. "Well, as you two know, you were paired up for duets," she began. "I was initially glad about this, for you are the two who have participated the least in Glee, and I thought this might help."

Shay rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever."

Once again, Ms. Rodgers ignored her. "But it seems that you two haven't done anything yet to prepare for your performance."

"What performance?" Shay questioned spitefully. "Me and the hobbit won't be performing."

Jordan nodded, speaking for the first time, wringing her hands in her lap. "I happen to agree with Shay," she said, giving to girl a slightly disgusted glance. "I'd rather not spend any more time with her."

"Well, you don't have a choice," Ms. Rodgers declared. "Prepare a duet, or don't come back to Glee Club."

"Pardon me?" Jordan questioned sharply, her hands stilling in her lap.

"What?" questioned Shay sharply before she remembered that she wasn't really supposed to care about a stupid club for nerds.

Ms. Rodgers riffled through the drawers of her desk, pulling out two stacks of paper and passing one to each girl. "I picked out a song that I thought would go well with both of your voices," she explained.

Shay took the page, nose wrinkling. "Seriously?"

Ms. Rodgers turned to her. "Yes, seriously," she replied. "Now off you go. I expect you to perform that on Friday."

Shay glanced back down at the page, and then turned to look at Jordan, who had a furrowed brow frown as well. "Oh hell," she murmured. This was going to suck.

* * *

 _Where do you go with your broken heart in tow?_ _  
_ _What do you do with the left over you?_ _  
_ _And how do you know, when to let go?_ _  
_ _Where does the good go, where does the good go?_

Liz looked more than comfortable on stage next to Perry as she began their song, and she felt it too. The words flowed out of her easily, and she glanced at Perry as it was her turn to sing.

 _Look me in the eye and tell me you don't find me attractive_ _  
_ _Look me in the heart and tell me you won't go_ _  
_ _Look me in the eye and promise no love's like our love_ _  
_ _Look me in the heart and unbreak broken, it won't happen_

Perry looked cool and confident, moving her hips to the music as she sang into the chorus.

 _It's love that leaves and breaks the seal_ _  
_ _of always thinking you would be real_ _  
_ _happy and healthy, strong and calm._ _  
_ _where does the good go?_ _  
_ _Where does the good go?_

Liz grinned as she began her next part.

 _Where do you go when you're in love and the world knows?_ _  
_ _How do you live so happily while I am sad and broken down?_ _  
_ _What do you say it's up for grabs now that you're on your way down?_ _  
_ _Where does the good go, where does the good go?_

 _Look me in the eye and tell me you don't find me attractive_ _  
_ _Look me in the heart and tell me you won't go_ _  
_ _Look me in the eye and promise no love's like our love_ _  
_ _Look me in the heart and unbreak broken, it won't happen_

Together they took the next chorus, and the one after that, now moving around each other on stage.

 _It's love that leaves and breaks the seal_ _  
_ _of always thinking you would be real_ _  
_ _happy and healthy, strong and calm._ _  
_ _where does the good go?_ _  
_ _Where does the good go?_

Perry stepped forwards as the music built, singing over Liz as she echoed behind her.

 _Look me in the eye and tell me you don't find me attractive (where does the good go?)_ _  
_ _Look me in the heart and tell me you won't go (where does the good go?)_ _  
_ _Look me in the eye and promise no love's like our love (where does the good go?)_ _  
_ _Look me in the heart and unbreak broken, it won't happen (where does the good go?)_

The music slowed to a finish and Liz looked over at Perry with a bright smile.

 _Where does the good go?_

* * *

Anya watched as Speedy bounced on his feet as he stood, wondering how he could be so calm. With her biting a hole in her lip, she figured that they looked like polar opposites at the moment. She wondered if Ms. Rodgers had paired them together on purpose.

Speedy glanced at her as the music began. "Ready?" he questioned quietly, eyes sparkling with excitement.

Anya nodded, though she wasn't sure how convincing she looked. Speedy seemed to accept it either way, refocusing as his part began.

 _Everyone's around, no words are coming now._ _  
_ _And I can't find my breath, can we just say the rest with no sound._ _  
_ _And I know this isn't enough, I still don't measure up._ _  
_ _And I'm not prepared, sorry is never there when you need it._

 _And now I do want you to know I hold you up above everyone._ _  
_ _And now I do want you to know I think you'd be good to me_ _  
_ _And I'd be so good to you._

Anya became more and more nervous as her part approached, frightened that she really was going to have to do this with no sound. This was her first time performing in front of the whole club. Her heart beat hard in her chest, and she silently willed for it to calm. Now was not a good time for a panic attack.

 _I thought I saw a sign somewhere between the lines._ _  
_ _Maybe it's me, maybe I only see what I want._ _  
_ _And I still have your letter just got caught between_ _  
_ _Someone I just invented, who I really am and who I've become._

 _And now I do want you to know I hold you up above everyone._ _  
_ _And now I do want you to know I think you'd be good to me_ _  
_ _And I'd be so good to you._

Anya could feel herself shaking as she listened to Speedy sing the bridge. She clenched her hands into fists as they sung the final chorus together.

 _And now I do want you to know I hold you up above everyone._ _  
_ _And now I do want you to know I think you'd be good to me_ _  
_ _And I'd be so good to you._

Speedy grinned as he sang: _I'd be good to you_

Anya found herself smiling slightly as she echoed: _I'd be good to you_

Together they finished the song.

 _I'd be so good to you._

* * *

"Are you nervous?"

"No," EJ responded quickly, biting his lip. "Why, do I look nervous?" he wondered after a moment.

Evan chuckled. "A little bit," he admitted. "But that's cool."

EJ nodded, glad that his back was turned to the rest of the glee club for the moment. He glanced over his shoulder at his peers and then back to Evan. "Yeah, I don't really do duets that often."

Evan patted Emilio on the back. "Neither do I, but I think we're pretty prepared," he reasoned, vivid green eyes kind as he looked at the other boy.

EJ nodded once more, suddenly feeling calm as he looked at Evan. "Okay," he said with a sharp nod. "Let's do this."

Evan grinned, turning to sit down on one of the two stools that had been set up in the centre of the room. EJ followed him, sitting on his right.

Evan nodded at Ms. Rodgers."Okay, we're ready," he said, pulling his mic close to him as the music began.

 _You say love is what you put into it_ _  
_ _You say that I'm losing my will_ _  
_ _Don't you know that you're all that I think about?_ _  
_ _You make up a half of the whole_

 _You say that it's hard to commit to it_ _  
_ _You say that it's hard standing still_ _  
_ _Don't you know that I spend all my nights_ _  
_ _Counting backwards the days 'til I'm home?_

Evan smiled, getting into the song. EJ tapped his foot to the beat, watching the other boy as he continued to sing softly.

 _If only New York wasn't so far away_ _  
_ _I promise the city won't get in our way_ _  
_ _When you're scared and alone,_ _  
_ _Just know that I'm already home_

EJ swallowed as Evan sat back, finishing his first part. Emilio cleared his throat as the music led into his part.

 _I say that we're right in the heart of it_ _  
_ _A love only we understand_ _  
_ _I will bend every light in this city_ _  
_ _And make sure they're shining on you_

 _If only New York wasn't so far away_ _  
_ _I promise the city won't get in our way_ _  
_ _When you're scared and alone,_ _  
_ _Just know that I'm already home_

The music slowed as EJ leaned back to take a breath, scanning the peacefully smiling crowd. Evan gripped the microphone again.

 _When life takes its own course_ _  
_ _Sometimes we just don't get to choose_

EJ joined in as the music picked up once more.

 _I'd rather be there next to you_ _  
_ _Promise you'll wait for me, wait for me_ _  
_ _Wait 'til I'm home_

 _All I have is this feeling inside of me_ _  
_ _The only thing I've ever known_

EJ gripped his microphone close to him, slowing down his last solo.

 _If only New York wasn't so far away_ _  
_ _I promise the city won't get in our way_ _  
_ _When you're scared and alone,_ _  
_ _Just know that I'm already home_

Together, they finished the song.

 _If only New York wasn't so far away_ _  
_ _I will be there every step of the way_ _  
_ _When you're scared and alone,_ _  
_ _Just know that I'm already home_ _  
_ _Just know that I'm already home_

The group applauded loudly as the song ended, but Evan and EJ were so busy beaming at each other that they hardly noticed the sound.

* * *

"Where are you going?"

"Out," Shay responded simply, not bothering to look away from the mirror as she fixed her eyeliner. "Don't wait up."

Mary furrowed her brows, flicking a piece of auburn hair from her face. "But, Shay, it's almost midnight."

Shay scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I know what time it is," she assured. "Doesn't really make a difference though."

"Don't you have school in the morning?' Mary wondered.

"Well, yeah," Shay replied, patience wearing thin. "There normally is on Fridays."

Mary sighed. "There's no need to be harsh, Shay," the waitress informed, crossing her arms in front of her chest and leaning against the bathroom door.

Shay frowned. "I'm sorry," she said after a moment. She was always nicer to Mary than she was to anyone else. Mary had given her a place to stay when there was no where else she could go, and she appreciated that. Without Mary she would be in an orphanage right now, or a not-so-nice foster home.

"It's fine," Mary assured. "Just be careful, alright?"

"You aren't my mother, Mary."

"I know," Mary replied simply.

Shay sighed, rubbing her temples. Now she really needed to get drunk. "I'll be careful," she promised, a blatant lie, but Mary didn't have to know that. Maybe she already did. She grabbed her purse, moving past Mary. "Don't wait up," she called over her shoulder, out of the house before Mary could even reply.

* * *

 **Songs:**

 _Where Does the Good Go_ by Tegan and Sara

 _Good to You_ by Marianas Trench

 _Already Home_ by A Great Big World


	9. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey all. So, I don't know if you saw the last chapter, seeing as I didn't get much feedback (and a million thanks to those who did review) but here I am anyway. Another week another chapter, and I hope you enjoy. Please tell me what you think.**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

"Ash, where the hell are you taking me?" Dylan wondered as he allowed his girlfriend to pull him through the hallways.

Ashleigh didn't answer, instead yanked Dylan around the corner, weaving through the lunchtime crowd and pulling Dylan along with her. "Ah ha!" she exclaimed after a moment, head snapping up as she spotted Levi down the hallway.

"Here," Ashleigh said, skidding to a stop in front of a surprised-looking Levi. "Dylan, this is Levi. Levi, Dylan," she introduced, gesturing between the two boys.

Dylan furrowed his brows, looking at Ashleigh with visible confusion. "Yeah, babe, I know," he reminded.

Ashleigh placed her hands on her hips. "Really?" she questioned sarcastically. "Because it doesn't seem like it. You do know you have a duet to perform on Friday, right?"

Dylan and Levi exchanged looks. They hadn't even spoken since the first meeting of the week. "Yeah, but..."

"No buts, Dylan," Ashleigh scolded. "You two are going to prepare a duet. And you can start now," she announced, placing a kiss on Dylan's cheek. "See you later."

Levi let out a low whistle as Ashleigh left. "Wow, dude, you are _whipped_ ," he said.

Dylan turned to him sharply. "Shut up," he grumbled. "Let's just get this over with."

* * *

Perry clutched her sketchbook close to her chest as she strolled through the empty halls, listening to the sound her boots made against the tile floor. She hummed quietly to herself, but quickly halted the noise as she turned the corner and spotted someone sitting down the hall.

"Hey, watchya doing?"

Anya glanced up at the sound, startled from her reading. "Oh, hello Perry," she greeted softly, somewhat shy. She had only spoken to the older girl once before, and even though they were in Glee Club a few times a week, she still wasn't comfortable with all the people.

Perry tilted her head to the side as she examined the girl, somewhat fearful that she had frightened her. "Don't you have class?" she wondered.

Anya nodded. "Yes, um, study hall," she explained. "I prefer to work out here," she said. "Do you have class now?"

"Yeah-"

"Oh, sorry," Anya interrupted, not wanting to offend the other girl. "I wasn't suggesting that you were, how do you say, skipping?" she stuttered. "I was only..."

Perry chuckled. "It's alright," she assured. "I have art class right now, but I'm way ahead, and Miss Hartford knows I don't work that well in a classroom setting," she explained.

Anya chuckled somewhat nervously. "Oh, okay."

Perry stood there for a moment, simply watching the younger girl before speaking once more. "Mind if I sit down with you, kiddo?" she asked.

"No, uh, go ahead," Anya said, looking genuinely surprised that Perry wanted to sit with her, which made Perry a little sad. Anya quickly shoved her books to the side so the older girl could sit down.

Perry opened her sketchbook, pulling the pencil from behind her ear and tapping it against the page. Anya listened to the sound for a minute, then turned back to her reading. The only sound in the hall was the two girls' breathing, and the scratch of Perry's pencil on the page.

They sat there in peaceful silence until the bell rang, and Anya briefly found herself wondering if that was what it felt like to have a friend.

* * *

 _On a lonely day_ _  
_ _I look out on the freeway_ _  
_ _I can, fantasize 'bout the car I drive_ _  
_ _Don't leave the light on_ _  
_ _I can find my way_ _  
_ _It's been so long now I have to say.._

It was obvious to Jordan the moment that Levi began to sing that him and Dylan had thrown this duet together last minute. She wondered if the two boys had been given the same ultimatum that her and Shay had, but she suspected that Ashleigh's influence was much more likely. They way she was grinning triumphantly at the pair gave it away.

The two boys took the chorus together, and Jordan had to fight not to roll her eyes. It was all so typical.

 _I'm goin'ta California_ _  
_ _gonna live the life_ _  
_ _sipping on tequila night after night_ _  
_ _dreaming of the moment when everything looks right_ _  
_ _a little bit of love goes a long way tonight_

The next verse was Dylan's.

 _I'm on my way (I'm on my way)_ _  
_ _Heading for the sun_ _  
_ _that's where I'll stay_ _  
_ _I'm never going back home_ _  
_ _do you ever feel like_ _  
_ _you need a change_ _  
_ _hang out where no one knows your name_

The rest of the song was like this as well, the two boys switching verses and singing the chorus is rough harmony. Jordan had to admit that there voices sounded nice together, and then again she hadn't expected anything better from a highschool glee club. They were smiling by the time they finished the song.

 _I'm goin'ta California_ _  
_ _gonna live the life_ _  
_ _sipping on tequila night after night_ _  
_ _dreaming of the moment when everything looks right_ _  
_ _a little bit of love goes a long way tonight_

 _a little bit of love, a little bit of love, a little bit of love_ _  
_ _goes a long way tonight_ _  
_ _oh yeah_

 _oh yeah_ _  
_ _on my way..._

* * *

Ashleigh and Sabrina stood confidently in front of the group, clad in matching outfits and smiles. They looked more than comfortable next to each other, in fact the were probably the only group that had really enjoyed who the had been partnered with for this assignment.

Sabrina turned to her friend. "You ready, Ash?" she questioned.

Ashleigh chuckled. "You know it," she replied.

Sabrina nodded, turning to the band behind her. "Hit it."

 _Can you hear them?_ _  
_ _They talk about us._

Ashleigh stalked forward and next to her friend, responding to her in song.

 _Telling lies_

 _Well, that's no surprise._

Sabrina chuckled, eyes roaming the small crowd.

 _Can you see them?_

 _See right through them._

Ashleigh jumped in;

 _They have no shield,_

 _No secrets to reveal._

The girls leaned against each other as the sang the chorus, looking as if they had been practising this for years.

 _It doesn't matter what they say._ _  
_ _In the jealous games people play._ _  
_ _Hey, hey, hey._ _  
_ _Our lips are sealed._

The next verse continued in the same fashion, each girl alternating lines, and Ashleigh giggling ever time Sabrina made an over-dramatic gesture.

 _Pay no mind to what they say_

 _It doesn't matter anyway_

 _Hey, hey, hey_

 _Our lips are sealed_

 _Our lips are sealed_

 _Our lips are sealed_

The song finished, and the two girls high fived, giggling still.

* * *

Sunny looked nervous as she stood in front of the group, hands at her sides. She relaxed as the music began, taking a deep breath.

 _All I knew this morning when I woke_ _  
_ _Is I know something now, know something now I didn't before._ _  
_ _And all I've seen since eighteen hours ago_ _  
_ _Is green eyes and freckles and your smile_ _  
_ _In the back of my mind making me feel like_

Greg joined in, smiling at Sunny as their voices blended together.

 _I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now_ _  
_ _I just wanna know you, know you, know you_

 _'Cause all I know is we said, "Hello."_ _  
_ _And your eyes look like coming home_ _  
_ _All I know is a simple name_ _  
_ _Everything has changed_ _  
_ _All I know is you held the door_ _  
_ _You'll be mine and I'll be yours_ _  
_ _All I know since yesterday is everything has changed_

Greg swallowed, preparing for his solo.

 _And all my walls stood tall painted blue_ _  
_ _And I'll take them down, take them down and open up the door for you_

 _And all I feel in my stomach is butterflies_ _  
_ _The beautiful kind, making up for lost time,_ _  
T_ _aking flight, making me feel right_

As the chorus came around again, Greg could feel energy surging through him, and he swayed slightly to the music, cheerful, albeit a bit awkward.

 _All I know is we said, "Hello."_ _  
_ _And your eyes look like coming home_ _  
_ _All I know is a simple name_ _  
_ _Everything has changed_ _  
_ _All I know is you held the door_ _  
_ _You'll be mine and I'll be yours_ _  
_ _All I know since yesterday is everything has changed_

Sunny gave Greg a rare smile as she finished off the song.

 _All I know is we said, "Hello."  
So dust off your highest hopes  
All I know is pouring rain and everything has changed  
All I know is a new found grace  
All my days I'll know your face  
All I know since yesterday is everything has changed_

* * *

Standing side-by-side in the centre of the room, Shay and Jordan looked as if they had surpassed awkward days ago. In fact, Levi couldn't even tell who looked more uncomfortable. It was almost making him uncomfortable just watching them glance at each other every once and a while.

"Neither of us actually wanted to do this," Shay informed simply, arms crossed over her chest.

Jordan nodded. "I'm only here because Ms. Rodgers said I had to be. Also, she picked the song."

Levi suppressed a chuckle as Ms. Rodger's cleared her throat from the side of the room. "Thank you, girls," she said, though she sounded much more annoyed than grateful. "Why don't you start now?"

Jordan nodded as the music began, opening her mouth to sing.

 _And another one bites the dust_ _  
_ _Oh why can I not conquer love?_ _  
_ _And I might have thought that we were one_ _  
_ _Wanted to fight this war without weapons_

The song fit her voice surprisingly well, and Levi found himself taken aback by how good she was. He would never have expected that from the way she looked and held herself. Then again, he had always been a bit judgemental. His eyes turned to Shay as she took the next verse.

 _And I wanted it, I wanted it bad_ _  
_ _But there were so many red flags_ _  
_ _Now another one bites the dust_ _  
_ _Yeah, let's be clear, I'll trust no one_

Her eyes were ablaze, and Levi had a feeling that she meant every word she was singing. The music slowed as they took the next bit together.

 _You did not break me_ _  
_ _I'm still fighting for peace_

 _Well, I've got thick skin and an elastic heart,_ _  
_ _But your blade - it might be too sharp_ _  
_ _I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard,_ _  
_ _Yeah, I may snap and I move fast_ _  
_ _But you won't see me fall apart_ _  
_ _'Cause I've got an elastic heart_

 _I've got an elastic heart_ _  
_ _Yeah, I've got an elastic heart_

As the song continued, Jordan's high voice bending the lyrics to her own will, Levi found himself watching Shay. Her eyes were slightly glazed over, focusing on some random point in the back of the room. Levi had heard about Shay. He had seen her around, knew about her reputation. She was harsh, manipulative, self-destructive, and so was he, in a way. But at least he didn't party every night, or sleep around.

Shay was different though, and as he watched her now he saw something he had never seen before. Behind her stoic expression, was emotion. Strong, painful emotion that he only recognized because he knew. Her lips moved, and if Levi was more cliche he might've said that he could see her singing her heart out. It almost hurt to watch.

He glanced around the room, eyes moving to Perry. She was watching Shay too, and he knew that she understood as well. His eyes travelled around the remainder of faces. Evan seemed to be tiring his best not to watch Shay's perceived apathy, but his eyes kept drifting back to her. Even the little Russian girl in the back was watching Shay with what seemed like understanding.

When Levi finally glanced back at Jordan he could see a bit of understanding in her eyes too.

Shay and Jordan sung the last chorus together.

 _Well, I've got thick skin and an elastic heart,_ _  
_ _But your blade - it might be too sharp_ _  
_ _I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard,_ _  
_ _Yeah, I may snap and I move fast_ _  
_ _But you won't see me fall apart_ _  
_ _'Cause I've got an elastic heart_

Everyone held there breath as Shay sung the last line, and if Levi didn't know better, he might have thought that the glistening he saw in her blue eyes was a tear.

 _I've got an elastic heart._

"Evan," Lauren Conaway exclaimed as her son walked through the front door, moving to embrace him. "Where have you been?" she wondered. "Why didn't you answer my texts?"

Evan stifled a sigh, hugging his mother back. "I was at Glee," he reminded. "Remember?'

Lauren pulled away, nodded. "Oh, oh yes, alright."

"Where's dad?" Evan wondered as he pulled off his shoes. His dad might still be at work, but that would be surprising. In fact, it was even more surprising that his mother was home already. She almost always was at the law firm until fairly late.

"I'm not sure," Lauren replied, though she didn't seem all that concerned. She took Evan by the arm and pulled him further into the house. "Are you hungry?"

Evan shrugged her off, running a hand through his short hair. "Nah, I'm good," he assured, moving towards the stairs. "I think I'm just going to go hang out up in my room."

Lauren nodded, a bit too enthusiastically. "Alright, just tell me if you need anything," she said. "I'll come check on you later."

"Yeah mom," Evan said, trying not the roll his eyes as he climbed the stairs. He moved quickly through the hallway, dodging boxes as he went. They had moved here a year ago and there were still unpacked boxes lining the halls and filling the closets. Mostly Noah's things, but none of them had had the heart -or the stomach- to touch that stuff yet.

Passing the guest bedroom, Evan paused. The door was closed, but light was streaming through the crack at the bottom and into the hallway. Silently, he pressed his ear to the door, pulling away when he heard his father's faint crying from inside. That was probably where he was going to drink himself to sleep tonight. No wonder his mother hadn't wanted to talk about it.

Evan sighed, moving down the hall and into his bedroom. He flopped down on the bed. It wasn't even six o'clock, and he was already too tired to move.

 **Songs:**

 _California_ by Wave

 _Our Lips Are Sealed_ by Hilary and Hayliie Duff

 _Everything Has Changed_ by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran

 _Elastic Heart_ by Sia


	10. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hello again everyone. This is a bit of a filler chapter, but I hope you still enjoy. I'm excited for next chapter. Tell me what you think!**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

Shay played with the fake Jack-o-Lantern that Mr. Wayne had in his office, feet up on his desk as he slipped into his chair.

"Could you please sit up properly, Shay?" Mr. Wayne questioned, already sounding tired even though their session had just started. "And put that back."

Shay rolled her eyes, tossing the plastic pumpkin the the guidance councillor, but keeping her feet up. She had never really cared for Halloween anyway.

"So," Shay began with a yawn. "Why did you call me down here anyway? I'm missing class, you know."

Mr. Wayne narrowed his eyes. "Shay, I've already called down to your class three times this week, you weren't there before."

Shay waved her hand through the air. "Yeah, whatever. Technicality."

Mr. Wayne sighed, leaving forwards. "Shay," he began softly, trying to get the girl's attention. "I has come to my attention, and the attention of all of your teachers, that you aren't putting that much effort into your classes," he began.

Shay shrugged. "And?" she prompted.

"You are failing all of your classes, besides mathematics, of course," Mr. Wayne stated.

Shay raised a brow. "So?"

"Shay," Mr. Wayne began. "Do you want to be in highschool for the rest of your life?"

"Hell no," she spat.

"Good," Mr. Wayne responded with a nod. "That's why I am getting you a tutor," he explained, raising a hand to silence Shay before she could protest. He fixed her with a stern look. "You are getting this tutor Shay, or you are going to fail half your classes and never graduate on time. Understand?"

Shay swallowed, nodding, and for once, was silent.

* * *

"Welcome to Glee club, guys and ghouls," Ms. Rodgers said with her signature grin, clapping her hands together like she always did.

Sunny could hear the collective groan of the group around her, pained my the joke but still smiling brightly. Well, for the most part.

"So, as you all know, this Friday is Halloween," Ms. Rodgers said. "So, I think it is only appropriate that we do some Halloween themed songs for this assignment," she announced.

Excited chatter spread throughout the group, and yet Sunny remained quiet. She had never really understood why there was so much hype surrounding Halloween. Perhaps it was because her parents, or her father, often didn't allow her to dress up, and soon other things had become more important then going door to door and begging for candy. Either way, everybody else seemed excited about this week's assignment.

"So," Ms. Rodgers continued. "I was also thinking that we could do a big group number at the end of the week." She backed up towards the whiteboard, picking up a marker and smiling at the group. "Let's get brainstorming!"

Sunny sat back, watching at the rest of the group chattered and through out songs. She didn't know any, nor have anything to contribute to the group. Halloween wasn't that big in Korea anyways, and if Sunny was prone to sarcasm she would say that that was going to make this week a pure joy.

* * *

Speedy bounced his leg up and down as he sat in his chair, pencil scratching against his notebook paper. Word flew over his page as the teacher wrote on the board ahead of him, but Speedy wasn't really listening. In fact, he was really just scribbling stuff down on his page that would most likely be unintelligible when he looked back on it later.

This was boring. His class was boring, his teacher was boring, and he couldn't stayed focused for the life of him, not that he ever could really. School was fun, there were people to talk to and things to learn and he would probably enjoy all of the if it just wasn't so freaking boring.

"Would you stop moving around?" hissed the girl from beside him.

Speedy glanced at her, trying to recall her name but unable to. He frowned, leg stilling against the ground. "Sorry," he murmured softly, turning away.

Not five minutes later, his leg started to bounce up and down again. How long until Glee again?

* * *

EJ and Greg stood next to each other, grinning ear-to-ear. The music began, and EJ stepped forwards.

 _I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand  
Walking through the streets of Soho in the rain  
He was looking for a place called Lee Ho Fook's  
Gonna get a big dish of beef chow mein_

Together the took the fist chorus.

 _Aaoooooo!  
Werewolves of London!  
Aaoooooo! _

_Aaoooooo!  
Werewolves of London!  
Aaoooooo! _

Greg and EJ were now moving in sync, dancing back and forth as the sung.

 _If you hear him howling around your kitchen door  
Better not let him in  
Little old lady got mutilated late last night  
Werewolves of London again_

 _Aaoooooo!  
Werewolves of London!  
Aaoooooo! _

_He's the hairy-handed gent who ran amuck in Kent  
Lately he's been overheard in Mayfair  
Better stay away from him  
He'll rip your lungs out, Jim  
I'd like to meet his tailor_

 _Aaoooooo!  
Werewolves of London!  
Aaoooooo! _

EJ froze, and Greg stalked around, grinning as she sung.

 _Well, I saw Lon Chaney walking with the Queen  
Doing the Werewolves of London  
I saw Lon Chaney, Jr. walking with the Queen  
Doing the Werewolves of London  
I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's  
And his hair was perfect_

"Everybody!" Greg called, and EJ unfroze, the two boys jumping around. The rest of the group joined in, laughing and clapping as the finished the song.

 _Aaoooooo!  
Werewolves of London!  
Aaoooooo! _

_Aaoooooo!  
Werewolves of London!  
Aaoooooo! _

_Draw blood..._

* * *

Evan stood alone on the stage of Westbank's auditorium, hands shoved deep in his pockets. He glanced out nervously at Ms. Rodgers as the music began, and the teacher gave him a bright smile.

 _Boys and girls of every age_ _  
_ _Wouldn't you like to see something strange?_ _  
_ _Come with us and you will see_ _  
_ _This our town of Halloween_

Half of the group crept onto stage; Perry, Ashleigh, Emilio, and Levi all stood by Evan and sung together.

 _This is Halloween, this is Halloween_ _  
_ _Pumpkins scream in the dead of night_ _  
_ _This is Halloween, everybody make a scene_ _  
_ _Trick or treat till the neighbours gonna die of fright_ _  
_ _It's our town, everybody scream_ _  
_ _In this town of Halloween_

Greg burst on stage next, grinning ear-to-ear.

 _I am the one hiding under your bed_ _  
_ _Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red_ _  
_ _I am the one hiding under your stairs_ _  
_ _Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair_

The remainder of her team moved onto stage, shifting into a scatted and messy formation. The all sung, voices blending nicely, but the still looked slightly awkward next to each other.

 _This is Halloween, this is Halloween_ _  
_ _Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween!_ _  
_ _Halloween! Halloween!_

The song ended, and Ms. Rodgers shot out of her chair, clapping widely. The kids glanced at each other, and the teacher's clapping almost deafened the silence between them.

* * *

 **Songs:**

 _Werewolves of London_ by Warran Zevon

 _This is Halloween_ by Marilyn Manson


	11. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hello! So, another chapter. Still Halloween, and hopeful this will give you a bit more insight on the characters and thier interactions with each other. I can't wait until we get to Sections, only a few more chapters! And remember, tell me what you think!**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

"Halloween is just a dumb excuse for devil-worshipping kids to get away with the crap they can't do everyday," Samuel Greenaway spat as he looked out at the kids walking along the sidewalk. He leaned back in his porch chair, taking a long hit of his joint before handing it to the older gentleman to his left.

Ralph nodded in agreement, inhaling the drug deeply. He turned to his granddaughter. "Glad you grew out of that, right Einstein?" he said.

Jordan nodded, settled on the ground between her uncle and grandfather.

"You know, Jordan," her uncle began, sitting forwards and resting his elbows on his knees. "Halloween was originally used to mark the beginning of Allhallowtide, a length of time where people celebrated the dead. Halloween was supposed to revolve around the theme of using humour and ridicule to conquer death," he explained, taking one last drag on the joint before extinguishing it.

Jordan nodded. "Yes," she responded. "I knew that."

"Course you did," Ralph commented, rolling his eyes. "Is there anythin' you don't know?"

Jordan looked down, turning the eraser she had stolen from one of her classmates earlier in her hand. "I think it's impossible to know absolutely everything."

"Yeah, well, when I was overseas Halloween was like any other day, we held our guns close and hoped that today wasn't the day we were gonna die."

"Sounds boring," Jordan commented.

Ralph chuckled. "You bet your ass it was, cupcake," he replied, cackling.

"Hey, where's your mother and brother?" Samuel interrupted, obviously uninterested in another one of grandfather's war stories.

"Mother is at work," Jordan informed. "And Parker was staying late at school to get something done," she lied simply. She actually wasn't sure where her half-brother was, surely he was getting into some sort of trouble though. Especially on Halloween. Of course, Jordan wasn't going to say that. If there was anyone she was going to protect, it was going to be her older brother. Not that her uncle or grandfather would care, but her mother would, and she couldn't trust them to keep quiet.

"Parker? Staying late at school?" Ralph repeated. "Well, that sounds l-"

"Trick or treat!"

Jordan shook her head. Stupid children. Did they look like they had candy to give out? Besides...

"Fuck off!" growled Ralph, struggling to stand up and move towards the group of kids, who ran away in fear.

Jordan chuckled to herself, glancing up at her uncle. She had a feeling that was going to happen a lot tonight.

* * *

"Is this really necessary, Greg?" Sunny questioned uncomfortably, straightening the cat ears that hat been plopped on her head just minutes ago. She unfolded the pillowcase that she held in her hands. "I mean, isn't this for children?"

Greg scoffed, eyes shining brightly. "No way, you're never too old for trick-or-treating," he exclaimed. "I can't believe you've never gone before."

Sunny looked down at the dew-covered grass, nodding. "Yes, well, my father didn't like the idea," she explained, fixing the hem of her black sweater. "And I'm sure he wouldn't like this costume."

"What's wrong with being a cat?" Greg wondered, tilting his head to the side. "You're in sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt, anyways. Besides, dressing up is the best part!"

Sunny raised a brow. "And what exactly are you supposed to be?" she asked, gesturing to his worn basketball jersey.

Greg's dark eyes widened. "I'm Frank Kaminsky," he explained. "You know, Frank The Tank? Just got drafted to the Charlotte Hornets?" he continued when Sunny didn't show any recognition. "Wow. I need to get you to watch some basketball."

Sunny chuckled nervously. "I think this is enough for tonight, thank you."

Greg nodded. "I guess so," he decided with a shrug. "Well, let's get on with it then," he continued, shaking out his pillowcase and moving towards the first door and hitting it thrice with a closed fist.

Sunny glanced sideways at Greg, nerves flowing through her as she heard footsteps approaching the door. "Greg," she said quickly, panicked.

"It's okay," Greg assured softly as the door opened, grinning at the older lady inside. "Trick-or-treat!" he called loudly, elbowing Sunny who followed with the same, unsure sentiment.

The elder lady grinned at the two teens, grabbing handfuls of candy and passing it to them with slightly shaky hands. "Oh, good evening. Aren't you two cute," she commented sweetly.

Sunny blushed as the candy was dropped into her bag. "Thank you very much," she murmured in response.

"Oh, you're welcome, dear," the lady said with a grin, stepping back into her house. "Have a good night."

"Thanks!" Greg replied brightly, closing his bag and hopping off of the step. He moved back towards the sidewalk, running a hand through his short hair. "What did you think?" he asked, turning to Sunny, who had followed him away.

Sunny glanced back at the house and then to Greg. She could feel herself grinning, and for the first time in a while all of the stress she carried just melted out of her. "Great," she replied truthfully. "Next house?"

Greg grinned, grabbing her hand and pulling her along. "Let's go!"

* * *

"Ooh, popcorn," Ashleigh cooed with a grin, reaching her hands out and grabbing at the bowl.

"Grabby," Sabrina chided playfully as she settled on the bed next to her best friend, chuckling. She passed the other girl the popcorn bowl. "So," she said, hugging a fluffy pink pillow, "what do you want to watch first?"

Ashleigh shrugged, sifting through the DVDs piled upon the bed. She plucked one out and held it up for Sabrina to examine. "How about this?"

A small grin spread over Sabrina's face. " _Halloweentown_?" she questioned with a raised brow, stifling a giggle.

"What?" Ashleigh questioned incredulously. "It's a great movie! Come on, you always wanted to watch it when we were kids."

Sabrina laughed, nodding. It was true, she was always asking to watch that movie on their yearly Halloween movie nights. It was a classic.

The door opened slowly, spilling light into the darkened room. "Aw, there's my girls," cooed Amy Mallory, smiling at the two. "You girls need anything?"

Sabrina shook her head. "No thanks, mom," she said,

"No thank you, Amy," Ashleigh responded with a grin.

"Well, you know you can come find me if you need anything," Amy assured, smiling kindly at the two girls before turning and exiting the room. "Enjoy your movies," she called over her shoulder as the door closed.

"So," Ashleigh began, turning back to her best friend. " _Halloweentown_?" she tried again.

Sabrina laughed, nodding. "Give me that," she said, grabbing the DVD and putting it in her laptop. She had a feeling that their next movie was going to be _Halloweentown 2,_ and she honestly could not complain one bit.

* * *

"Why are we at the school?" Perry questioned, turning and raising a brow at Liz as the walked towards Westbank High.

Liz shrugged. "Is this not okay?' she asked, somewhat nervous. She often did tings like this, but it was different with someone else here, different with Perry.

"It's fine," Perry assured noncommittally, shrugging her shoulders. "I just spend five days a week here, I'd rather not spend any more time," she explained.

"Don't ya trust me?" Liz questioned with a small grin, turning and leading the other girl away before she could answer.

Moving around to the back of the school, Elizabeth moved carefully through the dark, Perry sauntering easily beside her. Once the reached the back, Liz ducked under a set of chains and moved closer to the actual building, not checking to see if Perry was following her. Not that she had to worry, the other girl was right behind her, following with little protest.

Soon, Liz reached a small, rusted service ladder that lead to the top of the roof. She reached up, yanking it down so she was able to place her foot on the bottom rung. "You coming?" she questioned.

Perry raised a brow. "I'm not the one who stopped," she replied.

Liz rolled her eyes fondly, turning back and placing her hands on the cold metal bars. She climbed the rickety ladder to the top, stumbling off and onto the roof.

"You are going to fall and break your neck," Perry called from behind her, gracefully slipping onto the roof.

"It's not my fault it's dark," Liz mumbled. "You are the one who wanted to meet so late...why, by the way?'

Perry pulled her jacket closer to her body, ignoring the question. "What are we doing up here anyways?" she wondered

"One sec," Liz called, moving slowly around the roof, knees bent as to not trip again. She ran her hands along the top, grinning once she found what she was looking for, turning to grin at Perry. "Ah-ha!"

Perry raised a brow. "Toilet paper? Really?" she questioned incredulously. She shook her head, chuckling. "You are such a child, Elizabeth."

Liz's grin quickly turned into a frown. "Oh," she mumbled. "Well, yeah, we can just do something else if..."

Perry laughed again, the sound caught in the wind. ""Elizabeth," she said, effectively cutting the redhead off. She held out her hand. "Toss me a roll."

* * *

"Levi, where the hell are we going?" Shay asked sharply, following the older boy through the darkened streets.

"You said you wanted to party and get drunk, right?" Levi snapped, not even looking behind him as he moved off the main road and onto a dirt pathway.

Shay crossed her arms over her chest, cold in the minimal clothing she was wearing. "Yes," she grumbled.

"Well then shut up and be patient," Levi shot back, pushing through some brush.

Shay opened her mouth to give a sharp retorted, but paused as he heard something in the distance. Music. She looked ahead as the dirt path opened into a large field, and in the centre there were large tents set up, music blaring from inside them. She could smell booze and smoke and everything she had wanted for tonight. Shay smiled.

Levi paused, looking over at the girl. "Happy now?" he wondered sarcastically.

"Fuck off, Levi," Shay snapped as she moved past him and towards the party, but her voice didn't hold as much venom as usual. She made her way through the tall grass, cheeks flushing as she got closer and closer to the party, to the alcohol, and to the prospect of forgetting her life around her.


	12. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey all! So, here we go, another chapter. I really like this one, and maybe you'll figure out why as you read. That being said, Though I have been trying to feature every character every few chapters, and not focus too much on one, that may start to change. As I get deeper into these characters and begin to create more intertwining plots, I'm going to have to focus on some at times and not others. For example, Anya gets highlighted in this chapter, and not even as in depth as I had wanted, but you will see why. Sabrina also appears a couple times in the chapter. I also have a three chapter arch planned down the road that will focus ore on certain characters. I hope that's fine with all of you.**

 **On a separate note (and I know this is getting very long, bare with me), I leave for school tomorrow. It's exciting and nerve-racking but it also means that I may not be on as much. I will try my best to continue with weekly updates, but I make no promises. I only hope you are as invested in this story as I am, even without updates every week.**

 **Anyway, enjoy :)**

* * *

" _Evan, please."_

 _Noah's eyes were tired and glossy, screaming for help in a way that nobody ever noticed. He did not look like Evan, what with his dark eyes and light hair, but his smile, when he had smiled, had been bright and full just like his brother's. That was how Evan remembered him, and yet now he frowned as he quickly retied a noose into the fraying rope he held in his thin hands._

" _Evan, please, help me," he murmured._

 _Evan reached out to the younger boy, his body being yanked away just before he could reach him. Noah looked so small, so small and fragile. When had he become so thin? When was the last time he had eaten a proper meal._

 _Why hadn't Evan noticed? Why hadn't anyone noticed his empty eyes?_

 _Noah reached upwards, hooking one end of the rope onto the ceiling fan, and Evan lurched forwards. "No!"_

" _Stop," Noah yelled, because even though he had always been kind and quiet Noah always yelled in his dreams. He had a right to yell. Noah recoiled, and Evan was snapped backwards again. "Don't touch me."_

" _Noah," Evan whispered, voice breaking. "Please, I'm trying to help you."_

 _Noah bared his teeth, distorting his face in a way that made him unrecognizable. "You had your chance to help," he spat. "And you let me go. It's your fault, IT'S YOUR FA-"_

Evan shot up in his bed, hand clutching his chest. He rocked back and forth, hands tangled in the sheets as he tried desperately to normalize his breathing. He glanced sideways at the clock, whose blood-red letters read 4:56. Evan ran his hands down his face and plopped back down on his pillow. He knew that there was no way he was going to be able to fall back asleep, so he just gazed up at the ceiling, waiting for the day to begin.

* * *

Anya sat in the back of the choir room, as she normally did, working diligently on some of her advanced functions problems. The math was not that difficult, almost boring in fact, but it was better to get some done rather than to just sit and wait for Glee to start.

A few minutes, and several equations later, Ms. Rodgers emerged from her adjoining office and into the choir room, stepping up to the front of the room.

"Afternoon, kids," she greeted brightly. "How's everyone this week?'

A weak chorus of voices answered her, though it was much better than the silence the teacher used to get. Ms. Rodgers grinned. "Well, let's get on with this week's lesson, shall we?" she questioned rhetorically. She spun around to face the whiteboard, grabbing a marker and quickly scribbling a single word upon the board.

 _Dance_

"So, it's about time we incorporated dance into our songs," Ms. Rodgers explained. "And at the end of this week, we will all be performing a number together, with music and movement. All of us," she emphasized.

Anya's hand froze over her notebook, cheeks draining of the minimal colour they had. She held back vomit as the rest of the group chattered around her, some with apprehension, but mostly excitement. Anya's small hands balled into fists. She couldn't do this, not now, not ever.

Nobody seemed to notice her silent struggle, and Ms. Rodgers continued on brightly. "Is there anyone who dances in here?" she questioned.

Sabrina rose quickly from her chair. "I do," she exclaimed with a brightness that Anya had never possess when thinking about such movement. "Could I maybe...demonstrate?" Sabrina questioned, gesturing to the floor.

Ms. Rodgers grinned, stepping aside. "Of course you can."

Sabrina beamed, pulling her phone out of her back pocket and plugging it into the sound system before moving to the centre of the room.

 _Calling all my girls_ _  
_ _There's an SOS tonight_ _  
_ _Let's have some fun, yeah_ _  
_ _One hundred percent_ _  
_ _Every single trace of my weekdays are gone, yeah_

 _There's gotta be a million faces up in this room, room_ _  
_ _But the only one who gets my attention is you, you_

The upbeat nature of the song perfectly fit Sabrina's voice, and as she danced side to side, it looked as if she had bee practising just in case a moment like this were to arise.

 _I got my best on_ _  
_ _And I feel like dancing all night long_ _  
_ _Nothing's gonna stop me_ _  
_ _You're what I want_ _  
_ _So, baby, come and get me_ _  
_ _'Cause I don't wanna dance alone_

Anya beat over at the waist, moving to fix the hem of her pants. She paused there for a moment, taking her eyes off of Sabrina's movements. How was someone able to move so beautifully, and with such ease? She took a deep breath as the chorus came around again, looking up.

 _I see a million silhouettes dancing in this room, room_ _  
_ _I wanna be the one who gets the attention from you, oh_

 _I got my best on_ _  
_ _And I feel like dancing all night long_ _  
_ _Nothing's gonna stop me_ _  
_ _You're what I want_ _  
_ _So, baby, come and get me_ _  
_ _'Cause I don't wanna dance alone_

Sabrina was a natural, beautiful in her movements. The move Sabrina danced, the more Anya sunk back into her seat, and the more she thought that maybe Glee club just wasn't for her.

* * *

"One, two, three, four," Speedy counted under his breath as he jumped around his room, chest heaving. He moved along to the music, arms flailing widely as he went. "Seven, eight. One, two..." he counted to count, though his steps didn't really match up to to movements of his feet, but Speedy didn't care, he was grinning ear-to-ear anyways.

"What is that noise?"

Speedy froze, biting his lip. He moved over to shut the music off before smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, Grandma," he apologized. "Is the music bothering you?"

Gina softened at the sight of her grandson. "Oh, no it's okay sweetheart," she assured him, moving into the room and sitting on the side of his bed. "What were you doing?"

Speedy rubbed the back of his neck."Oh, just dancing," he explained. "Practicing, for glee club. It's dance week, and we're all preforming in a couple days."

"Oh, well that sounds fun, dear," Gina said with rapt interest. "Why don't you show me some of your moves," she suggested.

Speedy brightened, grinning. "Really?" he asked.

"Sure hon, besides, your dad won't be home for a while, so we've got the whole house to ourselves," Gina assured her boy with a soft smile.

Speedy nodded quickly, moving to turn the music back on. "Okay," he said as he got into place. "And five, six, seven, eight!"

* * *

"Okay, okay, and then it's right, left, ball change step," Sabrina instructed, displaying the movements once more. Dylan copied her, a scowl placed firmly on her face. "Great, good job," she praised, patting the boy on the shoulder before moving back around the room.

She came upon Speedy, who was jumping around in what Sabrina assumed was his attempt at dancing. She had to admit, it was kind of endearing though, wrong or not. "Speedy," she called.

The boy in question paused in his movements, looking up with a grin. "Yeah?"

Sabrina bit her lip, shaking her mind. "Never mind," she decided, turning around and clapping her hands together. "Alright, let's take it from the top," she announced. The group reformed around her. "Five, six, seven, eight!"

Sabrina moved into position, easily transitioning into movement as the music began. She did the first few counts with the rest of the group before turning around to examine them. She nodded as she watched, smiling to herself as the routine came to an end.

"Great!" Sabrina exclaimed, brushing a piece of dyed pink hair from her face. "I think that's probably good, see you guys at Glee!"

They grumbled goodbyes her way, turning to gather their things. Sabrina packed up her stuff, closing the dance room as everyone exited. Making sure the door was locked, Sabrina took off down the halls, catching up to Levi, who was just leaving.

"Levi," she exhaled, falling into step next to the boy. "You are really good," she complimented.

Levi rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever," he scoffed.

"No, seriously," Sabrina continued, spinning around to walk backwards in front of Levi, facing him as she spoke. "You're like, seriously good," she informed. "Why didn't you say anything when Ms. Rodgers asked for good dancers?"

Scoffing, Levi crossed his arms defensively in front of his chest. "Because I don't dance," he snapped.

Sabrina raised an eyebrow. "Is it because you think it's lame?" she questioned harshly. "Cause news flash, you're already in Glee Club, I don't think dancing will change any of your 'buddies' opinions," she said.

"Yeah, so what, I dance," Levi snapped, puffing up his shoulders as he stared Sabrina down. "But you better not say anything about it," he warned, pushing past Sabrina and out of the school.

* * *

Anya watched from the front row as everybody moved awkwardly around the stage, knees draw up to her chest the best she could. It was Friday already, and everyone was going over the last steps for the dance number they were going to perform for in about an hour. Anya had managed to avoid Glee all week, even dodging Speedy in the hall once, which was a feet in itself, but then Perry had been waiting for her after school and had dragged her to practice no matter how many times she protested.

She should've just told her parents that she was ill this morning, but that would've meant missing class as well. Besides, her Papa would've seen through it in an instant, he would've still let her stay home, but he would've known. She didn't need to give them any more reason to worry about her.

"Okay, now right, left, ball change back," Ms. Rodgers instructed. "Okay, that's good," she said with the most forced-looking smile Anya had ever seen her wear. "Then Levi and Sabrina will come into the centre and do their little part. Great!" she praised.

The shrill sound of a phone ringing cut through the auditorium, and Ms. Rodgers reached into her pocket, frowning as she glanced at the phone. "I have to take this," she explained and she moved towards the auditorium door. "I'll be outside, keep practising!"

Voices filled the room as soon as the door closed behind Ms. Rodgers. Sabrina went over to Speedy, her and Ashleigh showing him and Dylan the steps. Jordan had sat down in the back corner of the stage. Shay was checking her phone, and Levi looked bored out of his mind.

Perry hoped off the stage and walked over to Anya and sat down next to her. "Are you going to come and dance?" she asked.

Heat rose to Anya's cheeks as she shook her head, looking down at her feet.

Perry furrowed her brows. "You sure?"

"I-I just don't want to," Anya stuttered, wrapping her arms around herself. She appreciated Perry's concern, but really didn't want there to be any attention draw to her at the moment.

Perry nodded, sighing. "Alright, kid, whatever you say," she replied, patting the girl on the shoulder and standing up. She turned, hopping back onto the stage.

"What's wrong with her?" Shay wondered as Perry re-approached the group, jabbing a finger towards Anya.

"She doesn't want to dance," Perry explained simply.

Shay rolled her eyes. "Bullshit," she spat, jumping off the stage and stalking towards Anya, who could feel her hands begin to shake. Everyone followed slowly, almost fearful as they peaked around each other to get a better view. Anya would be fearful as well, she was, and she could feel her heart speeding up as all eyes turned towards her.

"Let's go," Shay said, standing over Anya. "Get up."

"I-I," Anya stuttered, not able to form words.

"Spit it out," Shay snapped.

Anya's jaw locked, eyes turning steely. The blood that was rushing to her face turned cold, everything quiet except the pounding of her heart and her small voice. She was not going to let Shay win, not with something this important. "No."

Shay raised a brow. "Why don't care how bad you are. I mean, look at Speedy," she said. Speedy made a noise from the back, but Shay ignored him. "Get up. Come on, everyone is dancing."

"No," replied Anya firmly.

"Leave her alone, Shay," Perry called.

Shay's eyes had gone cold, focused souly on Anya. "Get up," she demanded.

"No."

"Why won't you just dance?" Shay growled.

Anya opened her mouth to respond again, a clever excuse already forming on her lips, but somebody beat her to it.

"It's because she only has one leg."

Anya's eyes widened, bile rising in her throat. Everyone turned towards the voice. It was Jordan who had spoken so matter-of-factually, still standing on the stage, hands in her pockets. She stepped around Evan, eyes on Anya. "Well, it is, isn't it?"

Anya nodded slowly, mouth dry as the shock washed over her and away, fear filling her next. She glanced around the room, certain she was about to cry. She knew this was going to happen eventually, but why now, why so soon, and just when she was finally making friends here in America.

Whispers burst out through the crowd, confirming all of Anya's greatest fears, playing out the scenarios that had happened in her nightmares. Liz and Sabrina were murmuring to each other in confusion, Dylan was whispering something in Ashleigh's ear, and Sunny was glancing between Anya and Jordan, looking absolutely horrified. EJ was busy trying to shut Greg's open mouth.

Perry was nodding to herself, not looking surprised in the slightest. She regained her normal composure quickly. "Alright guys, that's enough," she announced, trying to round up the group.

"Wait," Jordan called out once more, again glancing at Anya. "Let's see it."

" _Jordan_ ," Evan scolded sharply, mouth wide.

"No, I agree," Shay interrupted. "Let's see it."

Fear rushed though Anya once more. It was painful enough for all her peers to know about her disability, but to be staring at her as well? The thought itself was almost unbearable. "No," she tried again, fairly certain that they wouldn't listen.

Jordan jumped off the stage, landing with a small thump and approaching Anya. "It's not like it matters now, we all know your stupid little secret anyway," she stated.

Shay stepped forwards, closer to Anya, and Perry's hand shot out, catching Shay's wrist.

"Don't touch her," Perry warned through her teeth. "Do not touch here unless she says it's okay."

Shay ripped her arm from Perry's grasp. "Really? You're defending her, when she's been lying to us this whole time?" she snapped. "I want to see the leg. Are you going to stop me?"

Yelling burst out among the group of teens, and Anya watched as Perry set her jaw before fear completely flooded the young girl's vision. Panic violently flooded her system, and Anya pushed herself into a standing position and stumbled towards the nears garbage can as quickly as she could -which wasn't too quick, even though she didn't have to try and hide her limp anymore. She reach the garbage, gripped both side, and vomited straight into its centre.

"Enough!' screamed Ms. Rodgers as she entered the room, but even with her stomach empty, Anya was still too dizzy to see where the teacher had come from. "What do you guys think you're doing?"

Head still bowed into the garbage, insides swimming, Anya took deep breaths, trying to focus on the voices around her instead of the buzzing in her ears. Her knees buckled, the weight of her prosthetic suddenly too much to handle, and she dug her nails into the rim of the garbage in order to hold herself up.

"She's been lying to us this whole time!" That was Shay, definitely, her voice filled with defensiveness. "We just wanted the truth. Did you know when you let her in the club?"

"Of course, it wasn't an issue" Ms. Rodgers replied, and embarrassment and thankfulness flooded Anya's stomach. The teacher had known. But, then again, all the teachers had access to medical records. She had known, but more importantly she hadn't cared, or said anything. "Now everyone, back on stage," she instructed sharply.

Shay again: "But-"

"Enough," growled a male voice. EJ, maybe? Anya took a deep breath, pulling her head back to watch the scene around her. EJ's blurry face came into view, dark eyes focused dangerously on Shay, who sighed and made her way back to the stage with the rest of the group.

Another wave of nausea rippled through Anya, and she tucked her head into her chest once more. She felt movement beside her, and a soft hand on her shoulder.

"Anya, are you alright?" Perry questioned softly.

Anya flinched away from the touch, eyes blurred with tears. "Do not touch me," she tried to murmur, but it came out in garbled Russian.

Perry furrowed her brows, drawing her hand away. She glanced back at Ms. Rodgers, who stood a few feet back, and then turned to Anya once more. "Please, come onto stage with us."

Anya glanced up to the stage, to the faces of her peers looking down on her, and then back to Perry. She swallowed, English failing her as she shook her head. The girl straightened herself on her good leg, turning and limping out of the auditorium. Once out in the hall, she held her breath until she was sure that nobody was following her, then turned and heaved into a nearby trashcan once more.

* * *

Levi stood on stage as the music started, surrounded by the rest of the group, backs turned to the audience. Levi spun around, smirking and popping his collar as he moved forwards. Sabrina jumped out of line and strutted around Levi as he began to sing.

 _Oh don't you dare look back_

 _Just keep your eyes on me_

 _I said "You're holding back"_

 _She said "Shut up and dance with me!"_

 _This woman is my destiny_

 _She said "Ooh-ooh-hoo,_

 _Shut up and dance with me"_

The rest of the group spun around, pumping their fists to the beat. Evan stepped forward.

 _We were victims of the night,_ _  
_ _The chemical, physical, kryptonite_ _  
_ _Helpless to the bass and the fading light_ _  
_ _Oh, we were bound to get together,_ _  
_ _Bound to get together._

Perry strutted up.

 _She took my arm_

The rest of the girls followed, forming a cluster and swaying their hips side to side. _Hey_

Perry grinned, arms raised up as she grooved to the music.

 _I don't know how it happened_

 _We took the floor and she said,_

Together, the club feel into the steps on the stage, moving side to side in what was almost unison. They all sung together, voices blending better than the still-awkward steps.

 _"Oh, don't you dare look back._ _  
_ _Just keep your eyes on me."_ _  
_ _I said, "You're holding back, "_ _  
_ _She said, "Shut up and dance with me!"_ _  
_ _This woman is my destiny_ _  
_ _She said, "Ooh-ooh-hoo,_ _  
_ _Shut up and dance with me."_

Evan broke from the line, hand to his chest.

 _Deep in her eyes,_ _  
_ _I think I see the future._ _  
_ _I realize this is my last chance._

Perry stepped up next to him.

 _She took my arm,_ _  
_ _I don't know how it happened._ _  
_ _We took the floor and she said,_

Everybody raised their hands, coming together once more. They formed a circle, hoping side to side, all grinning at each other. Shay even had a small smile on her face.

 _Don't you dare look back._ _  
_ _Just keep your eyes on me."_ _  
_ _I said, "You're holding back, "_ _  
_ _She said, "Shut up and dance with me!"_ _  
_ _This woman is my destiny_ _  
_ _She said, "Ooh-ooh-hoo,_ _  
_ _Shut up and dance with me."_

 _Ooh-ooh-hoo, shut up and dance with me_

* * *

 ** _Songs:_**

 _Don't Wanna Dance Along_ by Fifth Harmony

 _Shut up and Dance_ by Walk The Moon


	13. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey. So, it's been a long time, I know, and I'm really sorry. University has been kicking my ass a bit, but writing this has been a good stress reliever. I AM NOT GIVING UP ON THIS. As I said a bit ago, I still have a lot planned for this, and it's a good way to keep me writing. We are just getting to the good stuff, and I'm not quitting. That being said, updates are going to be two weeks apart, if not more. I hope you understand. Feel free to message me with any questions/concerns. And to any other Canadians out there, Happy Thanksgiving!**

 **Thank you for sticking with me.**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

Shay didn't know where she was.

The bed was comfortably, almost strangely so, but it was much unlike the one at Mary's house. Shay pushed herself up on one arm, violently rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She shivered, cold arm touching her bare skin as she sat up, blanket tumbling off of her.

Her head was pounding, and if she was any less used to it the heavy feeling in her limbs might have frightened her. But the fact was, she was used to it, in the same way she was used to waking with a strange person in a strange bed.

She reached over and flicked the hair away from the forehead of the boy sleeping next her. "Hm," Shay nodded to herself, he was hot. Even inebriated she had good taste.

Rubbing her eyes she rolled out of bed, tip-toeing around the bedroom until she located her wrinkly clothing. She pulled her pants on quickly, fishing for her phone, which was still sitting in her back pocket. Shay sighed, only about six missed messages from Mary this time. Not too bad.

Pulling her shirt over her head, she slipped out of the room and down the hallway. It smelt of booze and smoke and stale air, and for a moment Shay was glad that she could not remember much of last night. She coughed, her mouth tasting disgusting, and the pain in her head amplified.

Then again, it would be nice to remember what she had done to forget.

* * *

"Dylan, hun, time for breakfast," Jenna Jamieson called from the kitchen, pulling her thick hair into a bun as she shifted the eggs around in the pan.

Groaning, Dylan rolled out of bed, running a hand through his hair. He pulled on a pair of pants and yawned as he made his way downstairs. He was just sitting down at the kitchen table when his father entered the room.

"Bye, honey," Micheal said, kissing his wife on the cheek. He paused, adjusting the police badge on his belt as he turned to Dylan. He fixed Dylan with a stern look. "Behave," he commanded in a deep voice, giving his son a quick nod before exiting the room.

Dylan rolled his eyes, shoving more eggs into his mouth. He had just woken up and he was already excited for the day to end.

* * *

Ms. Rodgers looked even more excited than she normally did, which was hard to believe considering the substantial amount of joy that she often carried with her. She twisted the emerald ring she had on her right hand, spinning it around and around her middle finger as she watched the kids slowly file into their seats.

Greg sat in his normal seat in the middle row, one leg crossed over the other. He leaned backwards, eyes on Ms. Rodgers' bouncing form, shaking his head to himself. He turned his head sideways, towards EJ and Evan, watching as their eyes travelled around the room, leading him to the back, the empty chair from the corner glaring at him.

Anya hadn't been back to Glee since the incident in the auditorium last week. Greg wondered, briefly, if the Russian girl would even come back at all. He wondered if Evan and EJ next to him were considering the same things. He wasn't sure if he would, had he been in her position, but it didn't stop him from missing her kind smile from the back row.

It was strange without one of them here. It would be even stranger if she actually didn't return.

"Alright," Ms. Rodgers said after a long moment, breaking Evan out of his thoughts. The room had filled a couple minutes ago, but it seemed as if she too was waiting for Anya.

The teacher swallowed, continuing on with her joyful forward. "So, as you all know, Sectionals is at the end of this month." She paused, allowing for a couple quiet cheers to fill the room. Ms. Rodgers smiled. "And the theme for this year's competition is, drum roll please."

Everybody tapped a quick beat on their legs, Greg adding in the sound of his feet against the floor for an even better effect.

"Broadway!"

A grin broke out on Greg's face, and he turned to watch the reactions of his peers. Sabrina and Ashleigh were grinning at each other, giggling. Evan and EJ's expressions matched the two girls, lips turning upwards. Shay scowled from the back, matching an eye-roll from Levi. Sunny turned her head and smiled at Greg, who grinned brightly back.

Speedy raised his hand front the front row. "Wait, so like Cats and stuff?' he questioned, referring to the musical the Greg was sure most of them had seen on an elementary school field trip.

Ms. Rodgers chuckled. "Yes, Speedy, but not only Cats." She raised her hands to shush everyone. "Because of that, I thought this would be a great time to get in a little...practice," she continued, beaming. "So, this week I want you guys to get together and preform songs from famous Broadway musicals. Maybe we will even use them at Sectionals," she continued.

Greg sat back in his chair, zoning out slightly as Ms. Rodgers began to go into detail about the history of theatre. All he could think about was Sectionals, and how good it might feel if they were to win.

* * *

"What the hell are we doing here?"

Sabrina sighed. "Would you just be patient, Shay?" she snapped, arms crossing over her chest. She adjusted her position atop the piano, swinging her legs back and forth in the air.

"She's kind of right," Liz commented from her seat next to Perry. "You called us all here for what, exactly?" she wondered.

Sabrina sighed again, opening her mouth once more, but was cut off by the quick opening of the door.

"Sorry," Ashleigh exclaimed, looking somewhat flustered as she shut the door behind her. "I got caught up," she explained, moving towards Sabrina. "Have you told them anything yet, Sab?" she wondered, brushing a piece of stray hair from her face.

Sabrina shook her head. "I was waiting for you."

"Fabulous," Ashleigh said, clapping her hands together in a way that frighteningly resembled Ms. Rodgers. "So, this week's assignment is pretty cool, right?"

"Not really," mumbled Shay.

"Whatever," Sabrina commented, ignoring Shay. "Either way, Ash and I had an idea, and we need your help," she began, grinning.

Ashleigh smiled brightly, looking between the four other girls. "Have any of you ever heard of Cell Block Tango?"

Perry's brows furrowed. "From _Chicago_?" she questioned, earning a surprised looked from Liz beside her.

"No way in hell am I doing that," Shay snapped, arms across her chest.

"Why not, Shay?" Sabrina questioned. "It'll be fun, and a great warm up for Sectionals," she explained, wiggling her eyebrows. "Besides, you get to dance, and I know for a fact you like it, I watched you last week."

Shay huffed. "Whatever," she murmured, but still didn't decline the offer.

"We need you, Shay," Ashleigh said. "There's no way Sunny would agree, and neither of us really want to talk to Jordan..."

"Wait," Perry said, sitting up a bit straighter. "Isn't there six parts in that song?" she questioned, motioning to the five of them.

Ashleigh bit her lip, turning to Perry and tilting her head to the side. "Yeah, and that's where Shay comes in again..."

Shay raised skeptical eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"There is six parts, and only five of us here...for now," Sabrina began, slipping off the piano and onto the floor, straightening up. "The sixth part, and anybody who has seen the musical will know, is in Russian."

Shay's eyes widened in realization. "No, no way," she snapped. "I am not going to talk to the Russian nestling doll, she hasn't even been to Glee this week."

"Probably because you scared the shit out of her," mumbled Liz under her breath, receiving nods from the rest of the group.

"Why can't Perry do it?" Shay questioned sharply. "The girl likes her better anyway."

"You need to apologize," Perry snapped before anyone else could speak, eyes burrowing a hole into Shay. "She won't talk to me. It has to be you."

Shay rolled her eyes. "I'm not doing it?"

"Then you better not come back to Glee," Sabrina said.

"What exactly do you mean, barbie?"

Ashleigh chuckled. "Do you really think everyone will let you back if Anya doesn't come back?" she wondered, rolling her eyes. She straightened. "We practice tomorrow after school, in the auditorium. We'll see you there."

With that, her and Sabrina both picked up their bags and flounced out of the room, giggling to themselves as they went. Shay grumbled to herself, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Well, this is going to be a shit show," Liz murmured as Shay stood and stormed out of the room.

"I hope not," Perry said with a sigh, standing up as well. "I'll see you tomorrow, Liz."

'Wait," said Liz before Perry could leave, moving quickly after her. "I though we were going to hang out."

Perry swore under her breath, brows furrowing. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth, something came up," she explained quickly. Moving towards the door. "I really do have to go. I'll see you tomorrow."

Liz placed her hands on her hips as Perry exited quickly, sighing to herself. "An absolute shit show," she grumbled, before grabbing her things and exiting the quiet choir room.

* * *

Anya had always been fairly shy. She was good at ducking her head and hiding, she was good at observing and going unnoticed, she prided herself on these things. Especially after her accident, when she was either ill or too tired to speak to anybody. She was a quiet girl, and quiet girls were normally left alone in Russia, which was exactly what she wanted. She found that things were quite different in America.

"Hey, Anya," called Shay as the younger girl passed her. Shay pushed herself off the wall that she had been waiting on, easily catching up to the slow-moving Anya.

Anya hugged her books tighter to her chest, not looking up.

"Can we talk?" Shay asked, in such a soft voice that Anya glanced up in surprise but didn't say anything. Shay sighed, grabbing that younger girl's arm. "Come on."

Anya shook her head firmly, fear filling her veins. Would Shay really hurt her here, in front of all these people?

Shay's upper lip twitched. "I'm not going to hurt you," she assured roughly, moving them over to the door of an empty classroom and releasing Anya's arm. "Come on."

Anya bit her lip, considering for a moment before following Shay inside. She had always seen the best in people, she just hoped she didn't get in trouble for it.

Anya moved slowly, sitting down in the first chair she saw, closest to the door. Shay paced near the front, seemingly having an internal argument before turning to the younger girl, mumbling something unintelligible.

Anya bit her lip, looking up. "P-pardon?"

Shay exhaled sharply, air whooshing out her nostrils. She set her jaw. "I'm sorry," she grumbled. "For..." she paused, taking a breath. She looked extremely awkward, and her face was twisted in a way that told Anya the words were really difficult for her to say. "Pushing you, and being...rude to you."

Anya's brows furrowed, relief and confusion washing through her at the same time. "You are?' she wondered after a long pause.

Shay's eye twitched as she nodded, growling out the next word. "Yes. I am."

"O-okay," Anya stuttered out, voice still filled with confusion. "Thank you..."

Shay sighed loudly, interrupting Anya as she tried to stand. "That's not all," she said, nostrils flaring. "I gotta ask you a favour," she explained. "I, we, need you for a number," she continued, pushing her hair out of her face. "And I'm not sure you're gonna like it..."

* * *

Evan stood alone on stage, a microphone stand directly in front of him. Quietly, slowly, the piano began, filling the auditorium in which him and his club mates were. He glanced down at them, all sitting in the front row, staring up at him. Ms. Rodgers looked excited, and apart from a couple of the others, everybody seemed bored. Maybe this was a bad idea. Nobody wanted to be here on a Friday afternoon, and he hadn't had nearly enough time to practice. Maybe he should just not sing.

The introduction quickly dwindled down and Evan took a breath. Too late now.

 _Midnight_ _  
_ _Not a sound from the pavement_ _  
_ _Has the moon lost her memory_ _  
_ _She is smiling alone_ _  
_ _In the lamplight_ _  
_ _The withered leaves collect at my feet_ _  
_ _And the wind begins to moan_

His voice echoed around the auditorium, bouncing back towards him and filling Evan with confidence.

 _Memory, all alone in the moonlight_ _  
_ _I can dream of the old days_ _  
_ _Life was beautiful then_ _  
_ _I remember the time I knew what happiness was_ _  
_ _Let the memory live again_ _  
_ _Every street lamp seems to beat_ _  
_ _A fatalistic warning_ _  
_ _Someone mutters and the street lamp sputters_ _  
_ _Soon it will be morning_

Evan glanced down at his classmates once more, pleasantly surprised to find them all grinning up at him. He smiled back.

 _A street lamp dies_ _  
_ _Another night is over_ _  
_ _Another day is dawning_ _  
_ _Touch me,_ _  
_ _It is so easy to leave me_ _  
_ _All alone with the memory_ _  
_ _Of my days in the sun_ _  
_ _If you'll touch me,_ _  
_ _You'll understand what happiness is_ _  
_ _Look, a new day has begun..._

* * *

Emilio tipped his hat towards the audience, a dark smirk on his face.

 _And now, the six merry murderesses or the Crook County Jail,  
In their rendition of...The Cell Block Tango!_

EJ turned and exited the stage as the music began. Ashleigh grinned as she straightened her shirt, taking a deep breath before stepping onto stage.

 _Pop._

Next came Perry, strutting onto stage as she spoke.

 _Six._

Shay followed.

 _Squish._

Then Anya, who looked as uncomfortable as she felt in tight clothing, adjusting the waist of her long pants.

 _Uh uh._

Sabrina, grinned murderously.

 _Cicero._

And finally, Liz, taking her spot behind the final chair that was set up on the stage.

 _Lipschitz._

They repeated this three more times, the sequence quickening as they continued.

 _Pop! Six! Squish! Uh uh! Cicero! Lipschitz!_

The music kicked in, and they all began to sing together.

 _He had it coming_ _  
_ _He had it coming_ _  
_ _He only had himself to blame_ _  
_ _If you'd have been there_ _  
_ _If you'd have seen it_

Sabrina leaned forward and over her chair, sneering.

 _I betcha you would have done the same._

Ashleigh stepped forward and around her chair, sliding to the middle of the stage as she spoke.

 _You know how people have these little habits_

 _that get you down?_

She began.

 _Like Bernie._

 _Bernie used to chew gum._

 _No, not chew. POP._

She continued like this, pacing back and forth as she told her story. Her grin grew as she neared the end.

 _So, I took the shot gun off the wall and fired two warning shots..._

 _Into his head!_

Ashleigh laughed, spinning back into line as the rest of the girls sung the chorus once more, allowing time for Perry to strut up front.

 _I met Ezekiel Young from  
Salt Lake city about two years ago  
and he told me he was single  
and we hit it off right away.  
So, we started living together.  
He'd go to work, he'd come home, I'd  
fix him a drink, We'd have dinner_

Perry smirked, rolling her eyes. She spun to sit backwards on her chair, leaning her front against the back of her chair. She folded her arms on top, grinning frighteningly out at the audience.

 _And then I found out,  
"Single" he told me?  
Single, my ass. Not only  
was he married  
...oh, no, he had six wives.  
One of those Mormons, you know. So that  
night, when he came home from work, I fixed him  
his drink as usual._

 _You know?_

Perry stood abruptly. The music crashed, Perry smirked.

 _Some guys just can't hold there arsenic._

Perry threw her head back in a laugh, falling into step with the others as they sang together once more.

 _Hah! He had it coming  
He had it coming  
He took a flower  
In its prime  
And then he used it  
And he abused it  
It was a murder  
But not a crime!_

Next up with Shay, looking completely comfortable in her leather outfit.

 _Now, I'm standing in the kitchen  
carvin' up the chicken for dinner,  
minding my own business,  
in storms my husband Wilbur,  
in a jealous rage.  
"You been screwin' the milkman,"  
he says. He was crazy  
and he kept screamin',  
"you been screwin the milkman."  
And then he ran into my knife.  
He ran into my knife ten times.."_

Shay slid back to her spot, and everyone sung as they switched chairs, leaving Anya in the middle. The Russian girl's brows were furrowed, and she looked beyond uncomfortable in her seat. She fiddled with her collar, and it was difficult to tell whether she truly felt as awkward as she looked, or if she was just really good at acting.

The music quieted again, and Anya began to speak in perfect Russian.

 _Mit keresek, én itt? Azt mondják,  
hogy a híres lakem lefogta a férjemet én meg  
lecsaptam a fejét. De nem igaz, én ártatlan_

As she continued, Anya began to relax. It was obvious that she enjoyed reverting back to her native language, and it came through as she spoke.

 _vagyok. Nem tudom miért mondja  
Uncle Sam, hogy én tettem. Probáltam  
a rendőrségen megmagyarázni de nem értették meg..._

Shay leaned over to the younger girl, raising a brow.

 _So, did you do it?_

Anya's eyes widened, and she blushed, shaking her head.

 _Uh uh, not guilty!_

Anya leaned back, and immediately Sabrina took her place, stepping forwards.

 _My sister, Veronica and  
I had this double act  
and my husband, Charlie,  
traveled around with us._

Her and Ashleigh exchanged a look, laughing.

 _Well, this one night we were in the hotel Cicero,  
the three of us,  
boozin' and  
havin' a few laughs  
and we run out of ice.  
So I go out to get some.  
I come back, open the door  
and there's Veronica and  
Charlie doing Number Seventeen-  
the spread eagle._

 _Well, I was in such a state of shock,  
I completely blacked out.I can't remember a thing.  
It wasn't until later,  
when I was washing the blood off my hands  
I even knew they were dead._

The music rose around them again, and everyone burst into action, dancing around their chairs and switching positions. Sabrina began to sing, the other girls echoing her.

 _They had it coming  
They had it coming  
They had it coming all along  
I didn't do it  
But if I'd done it  
How could you tell me that I was wrong?_

Liz stepped forward next.

 _I loved Alvin Lipschitz  
more than I can possibly say.  
He was a real artistic guy...  
sensitive... a painter.  
But  
He was always trying  
to find himself.  
He'd go out every night  
looking for himself  
and on the way  
he found Ruth,  
Gladys,  
Rosemary and Irving.  
I guess you can say we broke  
up because of artistic differences.  
He saw himself as alive  
and I saw him dead. _

Everyone stood, strutting around their chairs before moving forwards and to the edge of the stage. They all grinned, dancing together. Their movements were unpractised, and out of sync, but they were having fun singing.

 _He had it coming  
He had it coming  
He only had  
Himself  
To blame.  
If you'd have been there  
If you'd have seen it  
I betcha  
You would  
Have done  
The same!_

They moved back to their chairs one at a time, spinning towards their right and strutting back. First Ashleigh, then Perry, Shay, Anya, Sabrina, and Liz.

 _You pop that gun one more time._

 _Single my ass._

 _Ten times!_

 _Miert csukott Uncle Same bortonbe._

 _Number seventeen – the spread eagle_

 _Artistic differences._

Then each girls, in the same order, grabbed their chairs and dragged them off stage, smirking as they went.

 _Pop!_

 _Six!_

 _Squish!_

 _Uh uh!_

 _Cicero!_

 _Lipschitz!_

The music halted, and the front row of the auditorium burst into applause.


	14. Author's Note

Hi everyone, if anyone is still here. I will not bore you with excuses about how my life got crazy, but I do want to say that I am sorry for leaving you all hanging.

That being said, I was wondering if anyone would still be interested in reading this story if I were to continue. The other day I found myself missing all of these characters, so I figure someone might be in the same boat. Let me know if its's something that you might be interested in.

Thanks,

DC


	15. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hello everyone, and welcome back. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me still, everyone who has come back to this story just as I have. I fell in love with all your characters and I just couldn't leave them, so here we are. Please let me know what you think. I hope to talk to you all again soon.**

 **Enjoy**

* * *

With less than two weeks until Sectionals, every glee club meeting was buzzing with nerves and excitement. And Levi, well, he was bored beyond belief.

They had spent the last three practices trying to teach Speedy how to count out steps in his head during the dance number, and it was not going very well. Him and Sabrina were the only people who could actually dance, which was why they had gotten the leads, Levi supposed, but it also made for multiple painful practices. Anya was uncomfortable with doing anything more than swaying in the back, but Ms. Rodgers had insisted that everyone had to participate in the number. Shay was full of unsavory comments about everyone's dancing, as usual, and Greg had already whacked both Sunny and Elizabeth in the face.

Needless to say, it wasn't going extremely well.

"Think we can sneak out the back?" Levi grumbled to Sabrina has he spun her into his arms for probably the forth time, his steps slow and lazy now. The two of them knew their part of the dance inside and out, it was the others who needed help, which was why he didn't get why he had to be here.

The British girl chuckled. "I think Ms. Rodgers would notice," she responded. "Besides, just give them a chance Levi, they are getting better," she said optimistically.

Levi raised a questioning brow at Sabrina's words, glancing over her shoulder at Speedy, who was still doing to steps three times too fast. He met Sabrina's eyes. "Are they?" he asked sarcastically.

Sabrina chuckled sheepishly. "Okay, maybe not yet, but they will," she assured, though she didn't look completely convinced. "Besides, we have plenty more time to practice."

Levi scoffed. "Not enough," he grumbled. More practise was exactly what Levi wasn't looking forwards to. It just meant an unknown number of hours spent trying to teach kids who couldn't dance how to dance, and then praying that they could hide the fact that they couldn't dance once they got on stage. It would no doubt feel like forever, just like this current practice did.

Sabrina tilted her head to the side, still smiling. "Lighten up, will you Levi?" she asked. "We've got plenty of time," she repeated.

Levi still didn't look convinced. He dropped Sabina's hands as someone messed up once again, stepping away from her with a sigh. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was better if he didn't see who had screwed up the steps, because then it would make him want to punch them less, or at least that's what Levi was telling himself. As painful as this was, he wasn't going to get kicked out when he had spent so much time working his ass off in this damn auditorium.

He looked back up to Sabrina, who was waiting patiently as Ms. Rodgers talked to the others. "Think we can leave yet?" he wondered, eager to be anywhere but here. Well, not anywhere. This was probably still better than home.

Sabrina shook her head, finally looking a bit tired. This made Levi smile. At least he knew that he wasn't the only one.

"Okay everyone," Ms. Rodgers called, hopping off the stage to go back and take her seat in the audience. "Once more from the top."

Levi didn't even bother to suppress his groan. _Here we go again,_ he thought.

* * *

Dylan sat in the school library, head pillowed on his history textbook. He was fast asleep, just as he had been for the past hour, despite the fact that he had an essay due in two days that he hadn't even started. Not his fault that he hadn't been getting much sleep, you could blame that on the nightmares.

Suddenly, and much too soon, Dylan was shaken awake. He lifted his head abruptly, looking around for the person who had been stupid enough to wake him. It was Evan, his green eyes full of concern. Dylan wanted to punch the look off his face.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" he growled loudly, earning a shush from the librarian. He rolled his eyes and ignored her, brushing his bangs from his eyes. With his luck, she would tell his mom anyways.

Evan's eyebrows shot up. "Sorry, man," he said, holding up a hand in surrender, the other holding tightly to the books in his arms. "I was just trying to help, that essay is killer," he said, motioning to the textbook that Dylan had been sleeping on and the empty piece of paper that sat next to it.

Dylan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever," he said. "Next time just let me sleep, will ya?"

Evan nodded. He hesitated, looking like he wanted to say something. Dylan was about to tell him to get lost, but Evan spoke first. "Have you started yet?" he asked.

"No," responded Dylan gruffly. "What's it to you?"

Evan ran a hand through his hair. "I was just going to offer to help you," he admitted with a kind smile. "I finished mine last week, and it's a lot of stuff to write in a couple days," he explained.

Dylan rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, I'm not going to fail or anything," he assured. "No need to panic about your precious Glee club, I'll be there," he assured. If he got one more F then there was no way he would be allowed to go to Sectionals, and everybody knew that.

"That's not why I'm offering to help," Evan replied, looking somewhat saddened by the accusation. "Seriously, I just though you might need a hand, and I'm good at writing essays," he continued.

Dylan raised a brow. "Seriously?" he asked.

"Well, not that good," Evan admitted, running a hand through his already tousled hair. He set his books down, taking Dylan's hesitation as acceptance of his offer. "But probably better than you," he continued. "Besides, what do you have to lose?"

Dylan looked down at his textbook and then back up at Evan. "Guess you're right," he said with a shrug. "Alright, I guess you can help me," he said, leaning back in the uncomfortable plastic library chair.

Smiling, Evan sat down across from him, flipping his textbook open. "Alright then," he said. "Let's get started."

* * *

Jordan tapped her foot rhythmically against the ground, glancing up at the clock. She really didn't want to be here, but the again there wasn't anywhere else for her to be, considering Ms. Rodgers had surprisingly given them a day off from practise. Still, she would much rather be at Glee club, or at home. Her grandfather was going to start wondering where she was all the time...

"I'm ready for you, Jordan," Mr. Wayne called from the door of his office, breaking Jordan out of her train of thought.

Jordan stood, rolling her eyes. "Finally," she said, not quiet enough for the guidance counsellor not to hear, either way Jordan didn't really care.

"So," Mr. Wayne began, sitting back in his chair and folding his hands on top of the desk. "Jordan, sit." He watched as the small girl slowly sat, nodding to himself. "I haven't seen you around in a while."

"I've been busy," Jordan snapped back immediately.

Mr. Wayne sat forwards, sighing. "Jordan, you can't skip our meetings."

Jordan rolled her eyes. "I can do whatever I want," she defended, knowing full well she wasn't required to come. It was surprising she showed up at all.

"Your mother and I agreed that you would come here."

Jordan crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I'm not my mother," she said, nostrils flaring. "And just because I'm not neurotypical doesn't mean I need to sit here and listen to you telling me how I can change myself to be "better"."

"Jordan," Mr. Wayne began. "We ought to talk about your issues. Asperger's can be difficult to over come," he said simply.

Jordan scoffed at his words, rolling her eyes. "As if you know," she shot back. "You aren't a doctor, or a therapist, you're just a school counsellor who was probably wasn't smart enough to get any other job. If you were, you wouldn't be here talking to me."

Mr. Wayne did not look to be affected by her words at all, he just continued talking. "Though I know that you've joined Glee club, which is a good start."

Leaning back in her chair, Jordan shrugged. All she really did was sway in the background and let people know if they looked stupid -which happened quite often. "Yeah, whatever," she grumbled. "It's stupid anyways."

Mr. Wayne sighed. He looked like he wanted to scold her but held his tongue, taking a deep breath. "Your mother wanted me to talk to you about some strategies that I think w-"

Jordan stood abruptly. "I don't want to talk," she stated simply. "And I don't have too, it's not like you do anything anyways." She straightened her sweater, turning quickly and exiting the room.

"Jordan!" Mr. Wayne called.

Jordan could hear him shouting for her, but she ignored it, like an annoying buzz in her ear. She didn't need this, she had sections to prepare for. Not that she actually cared or anything...

* * *

Riley Rodgers shot upright as her alarm rang, spinning to the side to quickly shut off the annoying beeping. She slid quickly out of bed and padded to the bathroom, pausing to pet Charles on the head before she slipping into the washroom. Riley moved to the sink, running cool water over her hands before cupping them and quickly washing her face. She inhaled sharply, the water jolting her out of the haze of sleep that she had been in.

Riley gasped as the cold water hit her face, looking up at her reflection in the mirror. She exhaled, long and slow. Today was the day.

The teacher grinned at her reflection. "We can do this," she said to herself. And then louder, with more confidence. "We can do this."

* * *

It was cold out, so cold that EJ could watch his warm breath dissipate into the morning air every time he exhaled. It was wet, the damp pavement soaking through the soles of his sneakers as he stood and waiting for the bus. Around him the rest of the Glee club stood in scattered clumps of sleepy teenagers. It was much too early, and much too grey out for EJ's liking. November was slowly turning to December in the ugliest way possible, and EJ was really wishing he had grabbed a hat like his mother had suggested.

Evan approached him, rubbing his hands together and blowing some warm air into them. "How much longer do you think we'll be out here for?" he wondered.

EJ shrugged. "No clue," he said, glancing around for Ms. Rodgers. When he found her, she looked to be in deep conversation with Sunny and Sabrina, so EJ just turned back to Evan. "Not much longer, I hope," he said, glancing a Evan. The other boy wasn't shivering, in fact he didn't look all to cold, other than his pale, shaking hands, and he wasn't even wearing a coat.

EJ furrowed his brows. "Aren't you cold?" he questioned.

Evan shrugged. "Not really," he responded, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "This has got nothing on Canada," he continued, glancing around at the wet, chilly, parking lot. "I actually can't wait until it snows," he admitted, green eyes bright.

"That should be soon," EJ said, nodding. He didn't know that Evan was Canadian, but then again he had never asked. But why would someone move from Canada to a small town in Washington? "It normally snows by Christmas, so we've got almost a month."

Evan nodded, smiling. He looked behind EJ, grin growing. "Look, the bus," he pointed out.

EJ turned around to watch as a small school bus rolled into the school parking lot. He could hear the relieved groans from the rest of the group behind him, and Mrs. Rodgers claps right on cue.

"Alright team," the teacher said. "Let's get moving."

EJ shuffled towards the bus, Evan closely behind him. As they climbed into the bus, which thankfully had the heat blasting, Evan leaned forwards to speak into EJ's ear. "Hey, wanna sit together?" he asked.

EJ glanced over his shoulder at Greg, who seemed to be having a conversation with an animated Speedy. He looked back to Evan, smiling. "I'd love to."

* * *

The bus ride to the theatre was short, but loud.

In the back, Sabrina and Ashleigh were trying to get some sort of sing-a-long going, but nobody seemed interested in joining in, much too occupied by the cold morning and the nerves of their upcoming performance.

Liz was seated next to Perry, leaning against the window. She was wearing a black toque that she was dreading having to take off for competition, because she knew that her hair was a total mess underneath. Her hands were cold, and she had them balled up inside her baggy jacket.

Speedy was seated in front of them. He had turned around about five minutes ago to start talking about a math test that he hadn't taken last week. He had been describing how he completely forgot how to factor when Elizabeth had zoned out. Math wasn't really her forte, but then again it didn't seem like it was Speedy's either. At least Perry had to decency to pretend that she was listen, even if it was clear that she was bored with the conversation. Still, the Latina was nodding along as Speedy spoke, asking him questions at all the right times. As rough as Perry was around the edges, Liz had noticed that she was always really good with the younger kids.

"What about you, Liz?"

Elizabeth blinked, refocusing on the conversation. "Huh?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

Speedy didn't even seem to notice that Liz clearly hadn't been listening to them talk. "What's your least favourite class?" he asked.

"Math," Liz answered without missing a beat. "God am I glad I don't have to take it anymore," she admitted with a sigh. Lack of math was definitely the best thing about being a senior.

"I like math," commented Perry from next to her, frowning slightly at the look that Liz gave her. "What?"

Liz exchanged a look with Speedy. "You're weird," she stated.

Perry raised a brow, her look almost challenging. "Am I?" she questioned.

Liz could feel her mouth going dry. She swallowed, unable to form a proper sentence. Thankfully, Speedy spoke up before the silence became to long.

"Think you could take my next test for me, then?" he asked hopefully.

Perry chuckled. "Sorry, kid, you're on your own there," she said.

Speedy sighed. "Thanks anyways," he said with a shrug. He looked strangely optimistic. "I'd probably fail either way," he declared simply, then turned back around and sat down.

* * *

"They are really really good."

Sabrina nodded, which was the only indication she had heard Ashleigh at all. Sabrina's eyes were glued to the stage, mouth hanging slightly open as their competition finished their performance. She chewed on her bottom lip as they flawlessly belted out the finishing notes to _Seasons of Love_ , silently cursing herself for not thinking of doing that song. Everybody loved Rent, it was such a crowd pleaser.

Sabrina hadn't been worried before, she had a decent amount of experience with performing, but she sure was now.

"Sabrina? S, you alright?" Ashleigh asked as the auditorium burst into applause around then. She elbowed her friend. "Snap out of it."

Sabrina blinked, then nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," she assured, though she looked significantly more pale than she had just five minutes ago.

Ashleigh raised a brow at her. "You sure? Because if you are nervous, don't be, you're going to rock it."

Sabrina tore her eyes from the stage to look at her friend. Ashleigh's smile made her feel a bit better, but she couldn't match it. "Alright," she breathed, turning as the house lights came up. Intermission. "Let's go," she said. "We're up next."

* * *

Sunny sat in the corner of the greenroom, back straight as they waited to be called backstage. The room was full with voices, nervous chattering and excited squeals. On the opposite side from her, Levi and Dylan had started an arm wrestling contest, which was entirely inappropriate for the situation, but Sunny was much to preoccupied to pay attention to their antics.

She glanced up at the clock, biting her lip. If the show was one time, they were due backstage in less than 5 minutes.

Greg slide into a chair next to Sunny, startling her out of her thoughts.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, grinning at her as he took in her appearance. "You nervous?"

Sunny turned her head away from him, silently shaking her head. If she were to admit she was nervous, then there was no way of avoiding it anymore.

Greg shrugged, apparently not taking the hint that Sunny wished him to be quiet. "It's okay to be nervous, you know," he informed her. "Hey, even I'm nervous, and I don't even have a solo or anything..."

Sunny set her jaw, trying not to let his words worsen her nerves. "I'm fine, Greg," she assured him, maybe with a bit too much sharpness to his voice.

Again, Greg didn't seem to notice what Sunny was thinking, or the subtleties of her actions, or maybe he just didn't care. It wasn't that Sunny didn't like Greg, in fact she actually did enjoy his company, but she just needed to be alone to prepare herself right now. Not that she was going to tell him that though, because that meant admitting that she was completely terrified of performing. Out of her peripheral vision she could see him nodding to himself, readying to speak to her again. She sighed inwardly, preparing to brush him off again when the lights flickered above them.

Greg stood, grinning. "That's our cue," he said, giving Sunny a pat on the back. "You ready to kick some ass?"


	16. Chapter 13

**A/N: Welcome back. I want to once again thank everybody who has stuck with this for their support. And I want to give an extra thanks to those who have reviewed, it means a lot to me. There should be at least one chapter in April to look forwards to.**

 **Enjoy**

* * *

"You look like you are about to shit yourself," Shay commented, getting a few dirty looks from her teammates.

Anya, who had already look like she was going to throw up before Shay had approached her, paled even further. "Oh, um, I am just nervous, that is all," she stuttered out under her breath. For some reason when she was around Shay she always had more trouble forming words than usual. Perhaps it was the nerves. All of her English went out the window once her heart rate got above 80 beats per minute, and the pounding of the organ against her chest told her that she was already way above that threshold.

"I am okay, though," Anya lied, hoping to be left alone to try and cope with her stage fright.

Shay scoffed. "Yeah, sure you are," she replied sarcastically. "And I'm Ms. Rodgers favourite student," she continued with a roll of her eyes. Settling beside Anya, she bumped her with her shoulder. "You're not going to throw up on me, are you?" she asked.

Anya blushed at the reminder of her public vomiting. How embarrassing. She looked down at her feet, thankful that leggings were a part of their costume. "No, no throwing up," she promised quietly.

"Good to know," Shay commented, though she didn't look convinced. They sat there in silence for a long moment before Shay spoke up again. "Don't worry, I'm sure no body will notice if you mess up," she said.

Anya paled slightly at the thought. "W-what?" she stuttered out.

"Just saying. All the people in the audience probably will be watching the others anyways," Shay continued with a shrug. "So if you mess up I'm sure only one of the couple hundred people will notice," she said.

Anya was not sure if Shay was trying to be kind or mean, but she nodded nevertheless. "Thank you," she murmured softly, looking down at her feet as she spoke. She did not want to look up in fear of being met with a teasing smirk for the other girl.

Ahead of them, the rest of the Glee Club mobilized. "That's our cue," Shay said, straightening. She glanced back at Anya once more, rolling her eyes at how pale the other girl looked. "You aren't going to screw up," she assured, voice almost calm. "Now come on, I didn't put this dress on just to lose."

* * *

The lights went down, the crowd hushed. On stage, the shuffling of feet could be heard. The lights went up.

Standing at centre stage was Sabrina and Levi. Sabrina faced the crowd, her hair done up with a feather to top off her look. In front of her and just slightly to the left stood Levi, his back to the audience. The music began to play, Sabrina stalked around Levi and towards the crowd as she sung.

 _Come on babe, why don't we paint the town?_

Hip left, right, left.

 _And all that Jazz_

Sabrina danced across the stage, winking at the audience as she did so.

 _I'm gonna rouge my knees and roll my stockings down_

 _And all that Jazz_

Levi stepped up. He grabbed Sabrina by the hand and spun her into his arms. They danced together, both singing the next lines.

 _Start the car, I know a whoopee spot_

 _Where the gin is cold and the piano's hot_

 _It's just a noisy hall where there's a nightly brawl_

 _And all – that – Ja-yazz_

Sabrina and Levi were the perfect pair. It was clear that Sabrina was meant to be on stage. Her voice commanded the audience. She had just enough smirk and sass to pull off the part, and she looked to be having fun while doing it. Levi, for all his grumbling, kept up with her easily. They looked as if they had been dancing together for years.

The rest of the glee club danced onto stage as the two sung, in pairs or trios or alone. Most of them looked significantly less practiced than Sabrina and Levi, but the music built and their voices all joined and it was almost enough to forget about the sub-par dancing.

 _Find the flask we're playin' fast and loose_

 _(Oh, you're gonna see a shiver-shimmy-shake)_

 _And all that jazz, and all that jazz_

 _Right up here is where I store the juice_

 _(Oh I'm gonna shimmy till my garters break)_

 _Cause in the stratosphere, how could he lend an ear_

 _(If she'd hear her baby's queer)_

 _To all that Ja-yazz_

Sabrina surged forwards as she sung her last lines, laughing along with the music.

 _No I'm no one's wife, but oh I love my life_

 _And all…that…Ja-yazz_

She spun back into Levi's arms. Everyone took their poses.

 _That Jazz_

* * *

Sunny took the stage next. On one side of her and just a bit behind was Shay, arms crossed over her chest. Evan flanked Sunny's other side, looking very much in character. Footsteps and voices could be heard shuffling about backstage, but the noise was drowned out as the music began to play. Lights went up on the front half of the stage.

 _Superboy and the Invisible Girl_

 _Son of Steel and Daughter of Air_

 _He's a hero, a lover, a prince_

 _She's not there_

 _Superboy and the Invisible Girl_

 _Everything a kid oughtta be_

 _He's immortal, forever alive_

 _Then there's me_

 _I wish I could fly_

 _And magically appear and disappear_

 _I wish I could fly_

 _I'd fly far away from here_

Sunny's voice rung clear and true throughout the whole auditorium. She looked nervous, but as the song continued, her voice grew, swooning out from the stage.

 _Superboy and the Invisible Girl_

 _He's the one you wish would appear_

 _He's your hero, forever your son_

 _He's not here_

 _I am here_

Shay stepped into the light. Her face did not match the words she was singing, in fact, she looked rather annoyed instead of apologetic. Her voice, however, was as strong as always.

 _You know that's not true_

 _You're our little pride and joy, our perfect plan_

 _You know I love you_

 _I love you as much as I can_

Once done her part, Shay stepped back into the darkness and then stalked off stage. Sunny continued to sing.

 _Take a look at the Invisible Girl_

 _Here she is, clear as the day_

 _Please look closely and find her before she fades away_

Hopping into the stage lights, Evan joined in singing the final part, his strong voice nearly drowning Sunny's out. The circled each other on stage as they sung.

 _Superboy and the Invisible Girl_

 _Son of Steel and Daughter of Air_

 _He's a hero, a lover, a prince_

 _She's not there_

 _She's not there_

 _She's not there_

 _She's not there_

* * *

"Yeah, I know, I wish you could be here too baby," Perry said, phone pressed to her ear.

Liz leaned against the wall as she watched Perry, a scowl on her face. The lobby of the theatre was fairly empty, except for herself and Perry, and half of their glee club. Ashleigh and Dylan were situated at the other entrances on either side of them. The others were backstage, and everybody else had gone back into the auditorium for the next performance, which happened to be their own.

They were due on any minute now, Liz could hear Sunny's voice through the doors, and yet Perry was busy talking to her elusive girlfriend on the phone. Ashleigh was glaring at them from down the hall. Liz pouted as she watched the other senior, arms crossed over her chest.

"Next time, alright?" Perry chuckled. "Alright, love you too. See you tonight," she said, hanging up and tucking her phone away. She turned around to face Liz, brows furrowing. "What?" she questioned.

Liz shook her head, shrugging. "Nothing," she answered simply.

"Come on, Elizabeth," Perry said. "You've been pissed at me all week, why?"

Liz resisted an eyeroll. "Whatever, why don't you talk to your girlfriend about it."

Perry furrowed her brows. "My girlfriend?" she repeated.

"Yeah," Liz confirmed. "You know, the one that you ditched me for last week. And when we were doing duets. And when you left practice early the other day. "Something came up"," she mocked. "As if. You know, you could've told me before being all extra nice and stuff, making me think that-" she cut herself off, stepping back and taking a breath.

"Think what?"

"Nothing," Liz snapped quickly.

Perry rolled her eyes. "You are acting like a child, Elizabeth," she accused.

Liz scoffed. "Whatever Perry."

Perry sighed, looking uncomfortable as she straightened out her dress. "Do you wanted to know who I was talking to on the phone?" she questioned sharply, continuing when Liz didn't respond. "My little brother, he's nine. He really wanted to be here today, but he's at school, and I couldn't get him. That's who I was talking to," she explained.

Liz's mouth fell open as understand flooded through her, quickly followed by painful guilt. She opened her mouth to apologize, but Perry wasn't finished.

"And when we were doing duets?" Perry continued. "That was him too. I was late on Halloween because I took them out for candy. And I left practice so quickly the other day because I had to go pick him and my sister up because they needed me. I never lied to you Elizabeth, and I never had a girlfriend," she finished, exhaling.

Liz flushed, gaping. She fidgeted with her hands, not knowing what to say. "I, um, I-I'm so sorry, I didn't know," she stuttered. "I-I just, I was just..."

"Jealous?" Perry filled in.

Completely mortified, Liz nodded. She has never been so wrong in her life, never with something like this, nor had she ever had such and outburst. And now she had embarrassed herself tenfold, in front of Perry of all people. Just when she was starting to make friends. "Yeah...jealous," she managed, looking up at Perry. "I'm sorry," she said again, taking a few steps back.

Perry followed her, shoulder's back. "It's fine," she assured.

"N-no, it's not," Liz argued, looking away once more. "I was wrong, and I totally get it if you don't want to hang out with me anymore or anything. I don't know what came over me, I ju-" she stopped, cut off by Perry's chuckle.

"Stop being an idiot," Perry said fondly, then stepped forwards. She leaned down, took Liz's face in her hands, and kissed her.

 _Holy shit,_ Liz's mind screamed, heart speeding up. She froze for a moment before coming to her senses and kissing Perry back and holy crap this was really happening. She melted into the other girl, eyes fluttering closed, and then groaned softly in disappointment as Perry pulled away.

Liz took a moment to relish in the happiness that had built in her stomach before opening her eyes. When she did, Perry's were sparkling above her.

"So," Liz murmured. "Does this mean you still wanna hang out with me?"

Perry chuckled. "You are adorable," she said with a grin, pausing to tilt her head to the side and listen to the applause coming from inside the theater. "And we can talk about it later. Right now, we have a competition to win."

* * *

The lights still up, Emilio switched places with Sunny and Evan, then music beginning in the background as he stopped at centre stage.

 _One day more!_

 _Another day, another destiny._

 _This never-ending road to Calvary;_

 _These men who seem to know my crime_

 _Will surely come a second time._

 _One day more!_

Dylan immerged into the auditorium from the lobby, walking slowly up the aisle.

 _I did not live until today._

 _How can I live when we are parted?_

Ashleigh appeared on the opposite side of the auditorium, staring at her boyfriend as they sung together.

 _Tomorrow you'll be worlds away_

 _And yet with you, my world has started!_

Perry walked into the centre aisle, her voice singing opposite from Dylan and Ashleigh, the lines overlapping.

 _One more day all on my own._

 _Will we ever meet again?_

 _One more day with him not caring._

 _I was born to be with you._

 _What a life I might have known._

 _And I swear I will be true!_

 _But he never saw me there!_

Once Perry was about halfway down the aisle, Elizabeth stepped out into the auditorium behind her. She sung opposite Dylan as him and Ashleigh climbed onto stage.

 _One more day before the storm!_

 _Do I follow where she goes?_

 _At the barricades of freedom._

 _Shall I join my brothers there?_

 _When our ranks begin to form_

 _Do I stay; and do I dare?_

 _Will you take your place with me?_

Perry and Elizabeth ran up onto stage as EJ belted out his line to the crowd.

 _One day more!_

Evan stepped out from behind the curtains, his strong voice easily holding the next verse.

 _One day more to revolution,_

 _We will nip it in the bud!_

 _We'll be ready for these schoolboys,_

 _They will wet themselves with blood!_

EJ and Evan shared a smile as they got into formation.

 _One day more!_

Speedy and Jordan hopped out onto stage, dancing around each other as they sung.

 _Watch 'em run amuck,_

 _Catch 'em as they fall,_

 _Never know your luck_

 _When there's a free for all,_

 _Here's a little 'dip'_

 _There a little 'touch'_

 _Most of them are goners_

 _So they won't miss much!_

The rest of the students entered the stage, singing over one another as they went.

 _One day to a new beginning_

 _Raise the flag of freedom high!_

 _Every man will be a king_

 _Every man will be a king_

 _There's a new world for the winning_

 _There's a new world to be won_

 _Do you hear the people sing?_

Dylan stepped forwards, followed by EJ.

 _My place is here, I fight with you_

 _One day more!_

Everyone launched into song as the music sped. There voices overlapped perfectly, showing the hours of practice that had been put into the number. Even Shay was smiling. They maneuvered around stage with grace and precision, before arranging in a line that spanned the whole stage.

 _Tomorrow we'll be far away,_

 _Tomorrow is the judgement day_

 _Tomorrow we'll discover_

 _What our God in Heaven has in store!_

 _One more dawn_

 _One more day_

 _One day more!_

They all raised a fist in the air. The crowd burst into applause.

* * *

Speedy stood on stage with the rest of his teammates, squinting against the bright stage lights. He didn't understand why they had to be on if no one was performing. It wasn't like the audience really needed to see the look on their faces when they won, or at least, hopefully won.

He rocked back and forth in his place as the head judge talked endlessly about the importance of show choir. She was the owner of a dance school in town or something, but Speedy hadn't been paying attention during the introductions so he wasn't exactly sure what she did. Though, if her passion for show choir was any indication then it had to be something to do with that. In front of him, Ms. Rodgers was clenching and unclenching her fists. She looked like she was about to puke.

Speedy zoned out completely, staring up at a stage light that was swinging back and forth in the rafters. He only refocused when Greg bumped him against the shoulder. As he opened his ears once again, his team shuffled nervously around him.

"And now, for the third place winner," the head judge began, struggling to open a small envelope with her chubby fingers. Behind them, the band gave a drum roll. Speedy could feel everyone holding their breath around him.

"The Holy Cross Harmonizers!"

Polite clapping echoed through the auditorium. Around him his team breathed a sigh of relief. In front of him, Sabrina and Ashleigh clasped hands. To his right, Liz leaned against Perry, eyes on the judge. He could hear Shay and Levi snickering from the back of the pack. Rodgers shushed all of them.

The judge raised her arms after the third place team was lead off stage. "Aright, and now the big one," she began. "Our first place winner is…"

* * *

"Mom," Ashleigh called as she entered her house, Sabrina and Dylan following closely behind her. She kicked off her shoes, unbuttoning her coat. "Mom?"

It was Ashleigh's step father Jackson that appeared first, ushering the three inside. "Your mother is in the kitchen," he informed his daughter, closing the door behind Sabrina. "How did you kids do?"

Ashleigh was already headed to the kitchen, but she paused to turn back to Jackson, her eyes bright. "We won."

Grabbing Dylan by the hand, Ashleigh pulled him into the kitchen, Sabrina shuffling in behind them. Ashleigh's mother Briar was just where Jackson had said, stirring a pot of what looked to be pasta sauce. She looked up as the three entered the kitchen. "Ashleigh!" she exclaimed.

Before her mother could get any words out Ashleigh blurted out the good news. "We won," she declared happily.

Briar clapped her hands together. "That's wonderful," she said sincerely. "Dinner is almost ready. Would you two like to stay?"

"I could eat," Sabrina responded immediately, smiling.

Dylan shook his head. "I actually gotta go," he said, pressing a quick kiss to Ashleigh's cheek. "See you later babe."

Briar looked almost relieved as the boy exited the kitchen. Ashleigh saw her boyfriend to the door, and upon returning to the kitchen fixed her mother with a glare. "Don't make that face," she snapped, running a hand through her hair.

"What face?' Briar asked.

Ashleigh scoffed. "The face you made at Dylan. I know you don't like him, but you don't have to be that obvious," she replied. "You think you'd get used to him after all these years."

"You are right, I don't like him," she responded. "And I have every right to that opinion."

Sabrina cleared her throat, looking like she wished to be anywhere else but caught in the middle of this argument. "Your mom's got a point, Ash," she admitted, tucking a piece of blonde hair behind her hair. "I mean, he's nice to you and all, but he's kind of a jerk…plus, he's bad for your image."

"What's that even supposed to mean?" Ashleigh snapped just as her mother said "Thank you, Sabrina."

Ashleigh rolled her eyes, trying to not show how hurt she was. A minute ago she had been on cloud nine, excited about their win today, and now she felt like she had just been kicked repeatedly. "Whatever," she said, turning and moving to the dining room. "Let's just eat."

* * *

Songs:

All That Jazz from _Chicago_

Superboy and the Invisible Girl from _Next to Normal_

One Day More from _Les Miserables_


	17. Chapter 14

**A/N: This chapter is a bit shorter than the last two, but I'm still here and now I've survived exams, so we are still going. Let me know what you think.**

 **Enjoy**

* * *

Still riding the joy from the Glee Club win last week, Sunny was grinning brightly to herself as she entered the school. It was a cold Monday morning, winter just beginning to show its face, but Sunny was in a great mood. In fact, she was even humming quietly to herself as she made her way to her locker, an English essay that she was quite proud of clutched protectively to her chest. She had a feeling that is was going to be a good day.

She was wrong.

She realized something was wrong the moment that her locker came into view. The front of her locker was nearly completely covered in what looked to be posters. Sunny furrowed her brows, approaching her locker. Upon further examination, she recognized the multiple photo copies of last week's school paper.

 _Loser,_ was scrawled down the front of her locker in messy black ink. The insult was accompanied by many others, written in the margins of the article. _Nerd. Lame. Go back to where you came from._

Sunny exhaled shakily. With trembling hands, she opened her locker, trying to remain calm by slowly counting her breathing. _In, two three four, out, two three four._ Behind her, she could hear a group of cheerleaders giggling, and she tried to pretend that it wasn't about her even though she was sure that it was.

Sunny closed her locker door carefully, fighting back tears. Of course it has only been a matter of time before something came along to ruin her happiness. Figures.

* * *

"What the fuck is this," Dylan exclaimed, ripped off the piece of paper that was posted on his locker. He looked down at it in his hand before ripping it up. It was a cut-out from the school paper's article on the Glee Club's win. Word 'glee' had be scratched out and replaced with 'gay', and Dylan's face was circled in the picture of them on stage. It was like it was laughing at him. _We know what you are doing_ it taunted.

Growling, Dylan teared it to pieces and tossed it into the nearest garbage can. From her place next to him, Ashleigh's mouth was wide open.

"It's no big deal, Dylan," she assured, facing his side as he open up his locker. "It's just a stupid prank."

"It's not just a stupid prank,' Dylan snapped, angry because of the poster and angry because the poster had made him angry.

"Is it because they said that is was gay?' she asked. "Because I know you aren't but either way that would be nothing to be ashamed of," she reminded him.

Dylan rolled his eyes. "Stop with the lecture, no, its not that."

"It was only a joke," Ashleigh continued, placing a hand on his arm to try and calm him.

Dylan shrugged her off. "No, Ash, we are the one's that are the joke," he spat. "We are in a singing club, for fuck's sake. I knew I shouldn't have joined," he grumbled.

Ashleigh frowned, looking hurt. "Well, then just quit, why don't you," she snapped finally, then turned an stormed away.

Once she was out of sight, Dylan slammed his locker shut. The sound rang out through the hall. "Fuck," he swore, then took off towards his first period class.

* * *

Jordan tapped her foot to the time of the second hand on the library's analog clock. She bit her lip, trying – and failing – to supress a scowl. Speedy had about thirty seconds to get here before she was gone.

Right as Jordan was packing her books away, Speedy stumbled through the library's swinging doors. He bounded over to her with a large grin on his face. "Hey," he greeted brightly, sitting down next to her. He didn't seem to notice Jordan's annoyance, or the fact that she was half packed to leave.

With a sigh Jordan set her books down. "Hi," she greeted, though the word felt much too friendly and foreign on her tongue.

Speedy was still grinning. "Thanks for agreeing to help me," he said, pulling out a tattered red notebook. "I totally suck at math."

"I'm not surprised," Jordan commented. She was, however, surprised that she had agreed to help him in the first place. It was startlingly out of character. She flipped her book open. "Let's just get this over with."

* * *

"Where is everybody today?" Ms. Rodgers asked as she entered the choir room. It was a lot emptier than it usually was for their Monday evening practices.

"Did you not hear?" snapped Jordan from the front row. "Someone realized that we were losers and has been harassing us all day," she explained, looking almost amused by the fact. "We all had stupid messages on our lockers this morning."

Ms. Rodgers frowned. "Oh dear," she said, hand to her chest.

"Yeah, Sunny looked pretty upset in first period," Sabrina said, ignoring Jordan's snickering. "She probably just went home."

"Where's Shay?" Evan asked from his seat in the back, looking around the room. He doubted that she had gone home because she was upset. Didn't seem like her.

"She's in detention," Anya responded quickly, then blushed. It was rare for her to speak up. "She, um, punched someone," she finished, looking down at her lap. It was almost like she was embarrassed to have known.

"Yeah, when she saw the stuff on her locker she punched the closest person," Levi explained, laughing as he did so. He leaned back in his seat, kicking it feet up onto the chair in front of him. "It was awesome."

Anya frowned at Levi's words. Perry smirked from her place next to Liz. Ms. Rodgers shook her head from the front of the room.

"Punching someone should not be what we aim to do," the teacher reminded. She glanced back up to Evan. "And Emilio?"

Evan shrugged, frowning. He looked at the empty seat next to him, green eyes troubled. "I don't know," he admitted.

Ms. Rodgers nodded, looking just as worried as she had been at the beginning of the meeting, if not more. "Alright, well if no one else is coming then we might as well get started."

"What's the point?" Jordan called from the back of the room, interrupting the teacher before she could finish. "Half of us aren't even here. If I were them I won't come back."

"Jordan," Evan warned.

Jordan shot the older boy a glare, then rolled her eyes. "This is stupid," she said. "Can we even have a club with only seven people?"

"Jordan-" Evan began again, before Ms. Rodgers stopped him with a wave of her hand.

"Jordan has a point," the teacher said, though her eyes held anger as she looked at her student. "There is no point in assigning something when half of you aren't here. You are dismissed. We will continue this next week."

* * *

"Well, that wasn't extremely productive," Perry commented as her and Liz walked out of the choir room, the remaining glee club members, or at least those who had shown up, dispersing behind them.

"Tell me about it," scoffed Liz, blowing a piece of red hair from her eyes. "I thought Ms. Rodgers was going to punch Jordan. That is, if Evan didn't first."

Perry nodded, chuckling. As they reached Liz's locker, Perry shifted so she could look at Liz straight on. "Would you like to go do something with me?" she asked suddenly.

Liz froze, hand hovering inside her locker but not grabbing anything. "Like, a date?" she asked, her throat suddenly dry. Why did Perry make her insides feel so fuzzy?

Perry smirked. "Yes, like a date," she confirmed with a casual confidence. "There is a new coffee shop a couple blocks away that I thought we could try."

"Now?" Liz squeaked.

"Unless you have other plans," responded Perry with a nod.

Finally finding what she needed in her locker, Liz slipped it into her bag and then shut the door. She turned to Perry, nodding quickly. "Yes," she said. "I mean, no I don't have other plans, but yes to the date," she corrected, smiling sheepishly.

Perry grinned, a rare occurrence for a girl who didn't do much more than smirk or scowl. "Great," she said. With the hand that wasn't holding her skateboard, she reached down to intertwine her fingers with Liz's, sending sparks coursing through Liz's arm. She pulled her towards the exit. "Let's go."

* * *

EJ was just trying to focus on his history homework for the third time with his phone buzzed. Thankful for the distraction, he walked over to where it was charging by his bed and checked his notifications. It was from Evan.

 _What are you doing?_

Smiling to himself, Emilio typed out a quick response. _Homework. Or at least, trying._

Evan's response came almost immediately. _Where were you today?_

EJ sighed, thinking of the print out that was crumpled in the bottom of his bag. He tried not to let things like that get to him, but seeing a page calling him gay posted on his locker had been a bit too much for a Monday. Instead of going to Glee he had come home and taken a nap. It didn't really make him feel any better.

 _Just wasn't feeling it,_ he replied. _Sorry._

 _Its cool_

Feeling just a bit better, EJ returned to his work. His phone buzzed again.

 _So how do you feel like ditching your hw?_

EJ smiled. _Absolutely._

 _I'll be there in 10._

* * *

A harsh knocking on the door woke Dylan up from his evening nap. Thankful that his mother wasn't home to yell at whoever had decided to disturb them, he slipped on a shirt and stumbled to the front door, running a hand through his messy hair in an attempt to tame it.

"Ash?"

Without waiting for an invitation, Ashleigh pushed past Dylan and inside, dropping her backpack down and turning to face her boyfriend. She crossed her arms. "Why weren't you at glee?" she asked.

Dylan blinked, his mind still fogging from his nap. "What?"

"Why weren't you at glee?" Ashleigh repeated, anger nearly creeping into her voice this time.

Dylan furrowed his brows. "Didn't wanna go," he responded. "Why's it even matter?"

"I was worried about you," Ashleigh responded quickly, though she sounded more annoyed and less worried than a dotting girlfriend normally would.

"Well it's not like you need to know where I am every minute of every day," Dylan snapped, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans for lack of something better to do.

"I'd like to know when you aren't going to be where you are supposed to be."

Dylan rolled his eyes. "Do me a favour Ashleigh and just leave it alone for once in your life, okay?" he snarled, teeth barred.

"Fine," Ashleigh fired back quickly, her words like shots out of a gun. "Why don't I just leave it alone permanently then?"

"Sounds great to me," Dylan responded with venomous sarcasm. "We're done!"

Ashleigh seemed surprised even though she had known that was exactly where this conversation was going. She nodded slowly. "Fine. We're done," she repeated. She picked up her bag and threw it out her shoulder. "You know, Dylan, everyone was right about you," she said, and then was gone before he could respond.


End file.
